How to get use to a trailer behind your truck while driving

He's right. You have too much going on right now. You're driving down a 4 lane in the right lane. You are coming up to an intersection where you are going to make a left turn.
CHECK THE LEFT MIRROR. Make certain that the area to the left of you is clear. Look forward and make sure nothing is in front of you. Check the left mirror again. Grab that left lane and approach the intersection. Green light, quick glance both directions while you go through first gear. Shift to second. You're still going forward through the intersection. Look left at the area you are wanting to go. Dont shift gears as you are turning, only when you are going straight (for now).

You go as far forward as you can and then turn the wheel left. Glance left and check your trailer wheels and make absolutely sure they're not going to hit anything. Look forward. Look left. As the trailer falls back in line behind the tractor, shift to a higher gear. See how that works? Instead of worry about shifting and whatnot, only shift while you are going forward. Once you start your turn, just concentrate on making the turns and scanning the mirrors to make sure the trailer clears the turn too.

"Ikkai ichi dousa"

 

Short term memory is chemicals.
Long term memory is an actual change in the brain, it's pathway for something remembered.
Also you're working on the autonomic memory. Doing things automatic. Like when you walk. You don't think about it. You're wanting that autonomic orientation to the trailer. It will come. Just keep repeating the input. Be careful in the process.

 

You are learning. But you CANNOT panic. Or stress. If you are busy melting down, you are not learning a #### thing.

Eventually you will be seeing everything that goes on. I cannot hardly have the trailer leave the lane due to a wind gust without me noticing right away. But that's something second nature. The mirriors tell you everything back there. Someday you will understand they will tell you things you will want to know.

You are engaged in a process of learning. YOU are driving the truck. However you are also being taught how to drive it.

You will learn it. Or you wont for one reason or another. Then you wonder what happened? But you will learn this.... it's not rocket science.

 

Driving is about acquiring good habits that all work together and those good habits make it much easier.

For example, you should be leaving plenty of room in front of you to stop. If you are not driving at any excessive speed and you leave distance to stop, then the truck is safe going straight down the road and under control. Remember, YOU control the truck.

So now that you're safe going straight you need to be able to see as much as possible at all times what is going on in front of you, to the sides, next to you, and behind you.

You want to look far ahead beyond your stopping distance so that if a car far ahead slams his brakes on, you can easily stop because you read the danger early.

You need to be able to see to either side so you can judge intersections, people, trying to cross the street or whatever can be a hazard.

You need to be watching what's happening on either side of the truck. Many times people would drive up right next to you and hang in your blind spot. So when you check your mirrors you should be looking next to the trailer on both sides and looking behind you, because you'll see if there any hazards approaching.

You'll see if there is Police or ambulance coming up behind you. You'll see if there is some Maniac who is flying down the road that's going to just zip right past you and maybe come close to making an accident. You will see if a drunken driver is haphazardly coming down the road toward you. You need to read that early to be safe.

So the other people that have responded have given great information. You need to know everything that's going on in front of your truck to the sides and behind you so that you can be safe at all times and the way that you do that is to scan everything.

Once you get good at that you will keep up with the flow of traffic in real time. You will know who's coming up behind you, you'll know who's slowing down in front of you, you will know what intersections are coming up, you'll make sure that you know no one is in your blind spot because you constantly know who is coming up past you.

You do all of this so that you know your position within the flow of traffic. When it is time for you to switch lanes you'll know when it is safe to do so.

I always look at it that whatever vehicle you're in has a strength for defensive driving. If you are on a motorcycle the size of the motorcycle is not your advantage. Speed is probably your best Advantage if you can get away from whatever is happening as a motorcycle is generally much quicker than other vehicles.

In a tractor-trailer it's actually the slowness and the size of it that keeps you safe. If people are speeding and passing you, you are safe in your lane. If you take your time and have the tendency to be a little slower with good stopping distance you're safe. If some maniac is coming up flying behind you slow down a little more. He'll pass you. When he's gone, you're safe.

Excessive speed, not knowing what's going on around the truck at all times, and close stopping distances really cause a lot of accidents. And that really is just poor habits.

And when you come around turns on off ramps and that type of thing, you really should be going slow enough that you can slightly accelerate through the turn.

It's really not that hard if you just practice and relax. You have to get used to the size of the tractor-trailer and the area that it takes up and know what's happening all around you within the flow of traffic.

Always Drive defensively, be in control, and be safe.

 

For me it's a form of battle.

Nothing extreme or stupid crazy ... for example... I love physics. It's one of the things that is very basic for our life on earth, gravity. And it has a way of weeding out those too stupid to understand it.

If someone came up on my left on a I-95 cross bronx, all 4 inside the tiny cheap VW rabbit eyeballing me heavily in my mirrior and matches speed with my window to all look at me... Im a telling you this is a PROBLEM.

This actually happened once when a group decided that will pick a new truck and trailer and set up a insurance scam. They did this in the rain (To take away the ability to stop...) and when I was alone on that road which is really rare for that part of the USA in the afternoon. The problem they did not understand was I was watching and they have more than given me fair warning that they want trouble with me and my rig.

I have had many experiences with insurance scammers before so this is something I am already 3 steps ahead of them. So it's absolutely no surprise when they bounced into my lane and slammed their brakes. That triggered a instant move on my part (Actually several parts...) to get that semi off and away from them at the speeds I was going and planning to be at using ABS to do it.

They were left sitting still watching me clean miss them by like two lanes worth of space then I took off making further plans which included calling the law on the upcoming GWB if they pursued. The tractor almost got away from me due to that 5th wheel under pressure from the trailer at a crazy angle pushing on my drives a little bit. I was able to get it back, but it was close.

Moral of the story, this was a battle. I saw them coming long before they executed actions that are really dangerous to themselves and to me. And for what? Money? Ha. I was not cared about any old insurance money, I cared more for my freedom should that rig have squashed their car and god forbid kill them idiots. So... I got out of it clean. THAT time. There wont be a second if I can help it.

Another form of battle is seeing a situation develop long before you arrive THERE. Some months ago two kids ran across southbound US67 freeway in rush hour, first one hopped the wall and made it across my front in like three steps. It took about 15 seconds to be where they were, we were already getting ready to do one of two things with the herd on our tail and next to us. It turned out that number two took a step into my path (I was already standing on the brakes with our car which came to a stop in about 120 feet from 70 on dry pavement, essentially perfectly, excepting there ware many people trying to stop and they cannot so we gotta go...)

Number two fell down onto his butt next to my drivers door after yanking his foot out from under my left front wheel. I think he saved himself. Number one died a thousand deaths hearing that rubber screech of braking on the shoulder to the right so he wont be doing that again.

There was a major bridge overpass about 5 minutes walk for them to go across without interfering with traffic. But no they choose to risk death or worse in thier stupidity versus 70 to 90 mph traffic herds.

Im guessing they wont do that again.

We are fine, just angry not just for the stupidity displayed by the people we could have killed but also the damage apparent to one rotor that will need replacing in 2018 for about 400 dollars more or less (Since it was already turned once...) Im more than happy to replace a rotor than to serve time in prison for killing one or two.

Not today, there wont be a problem. Think ahead to everything that is possible and you are already going to come out ahead when something DOES happen near you and your 18 wheeler.

 

Learn you shall young grasshopper.
Don't let the truck drive you but you drive the truck.

 

Yeah, it’s just like that- only totally different. Lol

 

More importantly, killing anyone.

I missed people by this much several times. If I hit them I would not be here typing about it. I don't focus my time thinking about those I saved. More about how stupid some of them were.

There were times I myself was almost killed in wild crazy situations that I could never possibly imagine might be my last day in this life. Im still here. It aint the 8 of 9 lives Ive lost, but what I don't see coming that will get me one of these days.

Until then I'll do what I can to help. But it's a given you don't get to kill anyone.

Now animals, specifically peoples lost pets in the road... well... Ive had to kill them. And frankly it's worse. Espeically that the pets got loose the way they did... One particular situation involved a Lab in my lane. I had cars lined up on both sides in construction in Texas on 30. No place to go, nothing you can do except adjust the wheel to take it dead center for a insta kill. Unfortuantely I forgot I had a shop truck with a rubber bumper instead of the usual steel front end. It bounced under my front axle and engine block with a yelp to be torn apart by the drive shaft and drives.

If all the things I take with me to my last day it's that #### yelp. Shrugs. I never drove that truck again and nature cleaned the blood, gore and bones with about 30 miles of driving downpours which cleared the cars away fast when they realized it's blood coming off the wheels.