The trucker's obsession with mirrors

The trucker that drug a car nearly a mile on I15 in Calif last year apparently did not believe in mirrors either.
Watch: Truck drags car with driver still in it - CNN Video

 

some states like up here in MASS, car drivers are allowed to run up the right shoulder. don;t check your mirrors and take an exit, we;ll see how you change your tune.

also, many states, people will do this, they could care less whether that state allows it or not, they see an open lane, and they are taking it.

 

You check EVERYTHING when in a Big rig.

Eventually you develop a sort of a constant eye on either your right mirror or your left. I examine three places on my rig always without fail. Especially in winter weather and other situations like GWB traffic.

You have so little time to do something when something does happen. If you refuse to check your mirrors and float down the highway fat dumb and happy and someone gets into your path or the trailer gets away or something else entirely what few seconds you have left are totally lost and you probably will have a impactful accident which will be a doozy. Partly because you are 40 ton and you must have all the time you can get by being very watchful all the time when driving.

I cannot tell you how many times some kind of information or early indication of trouble showed up somewhere and I took action quickly. Enough to save many lives. Including my own. Truckers are killed when they are too tired to pay attention. They get zombiefied and sometimes forget the parking brakes and then wake up in front of St Peter wondering why they are very dead?

Things have changed. You will develop eyes. And use them. Or you will be smashed into or you run over stuff and break them or hurt or kill people. Even more important when you realize the truck is equipped with a radar assisted braking that could slam your brakes on full at a false shadow or illusion. That is something I find unacceptable with winter coming.

Your eyes will expand to include knowledge for the weather situation in the entire USA three days ahead. All the time you will know who is going through a noreaster, a hurricane or even a winter storm, or all three as is happening this weekend and combined with a outbreak now developing in eastern Oklahoma as I type this. This affects your tractor trailer in terms of winds and so on. We may have a few tornados here tonight. But we'll see when that time comes. be a excellent time to be parked and sleeping or dinner time etc.

The moment you are not looking is when that little 4 wheeler determined to show you what for you big bully trucker... is the time you have lost and need to catch up before he is crushed on your bumper. (brake checking from idiots) you tube overflows with these kinds of videos. It only takes a moment.

 

When the unexpected does happen in front of you, you’re best defense is to know what’s going on around you. The split second accident causing surprise often comes from behind you, out of nowhere. Putting you in a bad spot. Using mirrors often, is your best defense. When something does happen, your natural reflexes will kick in. Your habits will influence your reflexes. It’s the difference between reacting and freezing up. It’s all about daily driving habits. When there’s no time to think, only react. That’s been my observation many times, after a close call.

 

You make good points and your record proves it works. However I think the goal of frequent mirror checks is to keep your overall situational awareness SA updated and to spot threats while they are distant. I won't say in public which technique I use and say I don't remember, lawyers may read everyone's post some day.

 

exactly if you can catch something in your mirrors to avoid a crash or something else. at the end of the day isnt thats what its about. to be one step ahead

 

If you don't allow it to become an obsession. It will become a disaster.

 

I actually saw one of my placards blow off once in the rear view. That is not a good thing to roll through the doghouse missing

 

Well, at least the OP will be in agreement with one other member here.

 

Well as a flatbedder my eyes are on my mirrors more than my windshield... Not only watching cars around me but also looking at securment and tarps making sure straps are good and tight and tarp is not flapping... Its even more important driving tanker or flatbed to leave yourself outs , your life depends on it when the any evasive action involvilng the breaks is most likely to send u into a casket ... If u dont look into ur mirrors u really only have one out, which is right in front of u if u leave enough space but everybody thats been driving truck more than 3 months understands anyspace in front of u will instantly be taken by a car....... There was a member who posted a dashcam video on here not to long ago. He was about to drive thru an intersection in the right lane and the people on the sidewalk started to come off the sidewalk into the road right in front of the truck, because the driver was looking in his mirrors he was able to recognize the out to his left and put that truck in the left lane at the last second and avoid killing 2 people. If he hit those people he would most likely take the blame.... If somebody remebers that video it would be grrat to show it to this OP so he can understand why its important to always leave outs and the only way to do that is check the mirrors

 

If the op doesn't get it by now, there is nothing short of him being involved in an accident that will change his mind, hopefully he has been convinced.

He drove 37 years without looking, I am going out on a limb and say he checked his mirrors without realizing it, or he is lucky. I check them and want an out in a 4 wheeler just as much and even more riding a motorcycle.

 

Conventional thinking rules, your 37 years of driving don’t mean squat.