Why Gainesville Residents Should Watch Out for Commercial Trucks

Gainesville, Florida, has fewer than 134,000 residents. However, many commercial trucks rumble through it on their way to other places. These 18-wheelers weigh a lot, and they’re enormous.

If you reside in the Gainesville area, you should watch out for these vehicles while on the road. You should also exercise caution around them if you’re walking, jogging, or cycling near one.

We’ll talk about why you should look out for these trucks in the following article.

Large Trucks Can Cause Extensive Damage

2019 saw 5,005 large truck fatal accidents. Most of those accidents involved commercial vehicles like the ones you sometimes see in and around Gainesville.

When you see one of these large trucks on the road, you should know the driver needs a commercial license to operate one. It takes time and patience to get one of these licenses. The driver must pass a written test, and they must pass a driving test as well, the same as with noncommercial driver’s licenses.

Once someone has that commercial driver’s license, they will likely support themselves, and possibly a family as well, with the money they get from truck driving. They should know to exercise caution around other cars and any pedestrians or cyclists they see when they’re driving on local streets.

That doesn’t mean a driver might not experience fatigue if they’ve been out on the road for many hours, though. Laws exist that prohibit truck drivers from driving more than eight hours at a time without stopping for at least a half-hour break. Still, sleep-deprived truckers can lose control of these vehicles if they aren’t careful, and if that ever happens, one of these massive trucks can careen out of control.

That’s one major reason why Gainesville residents need to watch out for them if they see one near them on the highway or a local road.

They Have Large Blind Spots

You also need to watch out for these trucks because they have much larger blind spots than the average vehicle. With regular cars, you know to turn and check the blind spot on your left and slightly behind you before you change lanes. Experienced drivers know to do that, and some cars come with blind-spot object alert systems at this point as well.

Commercial trucks have more blind spots than the average car, though, and larger ones too. With commercial trucks, there’s a blind spot in the same place that a car has one, but they also have them directly in front and behind the vehicle.

If you get too close to a large commercial truck, and you’re in one of their blind spots, they might hit your car. You’d hope a truck driver knows to check the areas all around the truck before they change lanes or accelerate, but a single careless moment can prove disastrous.

You can avoid this issue by staying away from these trucks as much as you can. Accelerating and getting away from them on the highway, or slowing down so they can pass you, means you’ll have distance between your vehicle and the truck in question.

Florida is a Bad Place for Pedestrians and Cyclists

If you see a commercial truck on local roads, that probably means it’s about to pick up a load, or maybe it just dropped one off. These trucks, because they can’t maneuver very well in narrow streets, try to stay on the highways as much as possible.

Gainesville residents should know, though, that Florida in general is not kind to pedestrians and cyclists. It’s a state where pedestrian and cyclist accidents happen pretty frequently. Some drivers don’t watch for these individuals as much as they should, and that’s true in Gainesville, just like elsewhere in the state.

You’re in trouble if you’re out for a walk or a bike ride and a car hits you, but imagine what might happen if a commercial truck strikes you. You risk serious injury or death if that occurs.

Again, you’d expect the truck driver knows to check for pedestrians and cyclists, but one careless moment might change or even end your life. If you go out for a walk, a jog, or a bike ride, watch out for these large trucks and give them a wide berth. Stand well back from the road if one goes past, and make sure to only cross the street in the crosswalk if you’re on a road where you sometimes encounter these multiple-ton juggernauts.

Ulani Uriah

Umar Nisar was born and raised in the busy city of Abbottabad. As a journalist, Umar Nisar has contributed to many online publications including PAK Today and the Huffing Post. In regards to academics, Umar Nisar earned a degree in business from the Abbottabad UST, Havelian. Umar Nisar follows the money and covers all aspects of emerging tech here at The Hear Up.

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