Commercial Motor Vehicles
Commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) play a vital role in various industries, transporting goods and people across cities, states, and countries. These vehicles encompass a wide range of types and sizes, including trucks, buses, vans, and more. They are subject to specific regulations and requirements to ensure safety and compliance on the road.
Our state economy relies on commercial motor vehicle transportation for the distribution of goods and services. It’s important that all motorists know how to travel safely around larger vehicles.
What is the No-Zone? While truck drivers sit higher than other vehicles, their visibility is severely limited by multiple blind spots–called No-Zones. Motorists should stay out of the No-Zones to allow commercial motor vehicles to take evasive actions as needed.
For more large truck safety videos, visit the YouTube playlist.
Don’t Drive Distracted.
One study found that 71 percent of large-truck crashes occurred when a truck driver was doing something besides driving (USDOT). This includes:
- eating and drinking
- talking on phone
- texting
- reaching for objects in your cab
- using a dispatching device
Maintain a safe following distance.
Traveling at 55mph, it takes a loaded tractor-trailer 196 feet to stop. In adverse conditions, double your following distance.
Plan your route before driving.
Navigating while driving takes your attention away from the road, where conditions change very quickly.
Be Aware of your No-Zone.
Take note of vehicles on every side, and do not assume that other vehicles know your blind spots.
Drive alert and well-rested.
Staying awake for 24 hours is comparable to having a BAC of roughly 0.10 (Dawson & Reid, 1997).
Dawson, D., & Reid, K. (1997). Fatigue, alcohol and performance impairment. Nature, 388, 235.