Distracted driving is one of the most common causes of accidents throughout the nation. In fact, in the year 2011 387,000 people were injured in a motor vehicle crash that was caused by driving while distracted. As technology grows and becomes more prevalent in our lives, the number of distractions also grows.

Did you know that there are three types of distracted driving? They are manual, visual, and cognitive. Visual distracted driving is when you take your eyes of the road. This includes not only looking at your cell phone while reading a text, but also looking down to change the song on your MP3 player, looking for a CD, or unwrapping a candy bar, etc.

In general, your eyes are off the road for five seconds while texting and driving. When going about 40mph, it takes 4-5 seconds to come to a complete stop. A car traveling at 45mph will cover about 330ft in 5 seconds. A lot can happen in 5 seconds…

The next type of distraction is a manual distraction. This means that you are taking your hands of the wheel. Taking your hands off the road is dangerous, even if your eyes are looking ahead because your reaction time is slowed. In the previous paragraph, I illustrated how vital even a second is when driving. If you need to swerve and your hands are off the wheel, even if you replace them quickly, it may be too late.

The third and final type of distracted driving is cognitive. This one is a difficult one, it means taking your mind off driving. While behind the wheel your mind should be on the road, not on what you are going to eat for lunch or anything else. As I said before, this is a hard one to keep under control, especially with so much going on in life. It’s easy to get your mind distracted while driving.

Each and every type of distracted driving is dangerous by itself, but when you put all of them together it’s disastrous. When doing something on the phone such as texting while driving, your hands are off the wheel, your eyes are off the road, and your mind is on your conversation. Is it any wonder distracted driving is becoming such a big problem?

Please, pay attention when you drive. If it helps, keep in mind that it’s not only your life you’re risking when you drive distracted. In the words of the U.S. Department of Transportation, one text or call could wreck it all.

Each year at the beginning of June, the CVSA conducts the “largest targeted enforcement program on commercial vehicles in the world.” This annual inspection is called “Roadcheck” and during this program, an average of 14 commercial trucks and buses are inspected every minute. The inspection lasts 72 hours and covers the whole of the nation. With this large inspection, there are plenty of questions arising, such as what will they be looking for and how can I prepare?

The CVSA is mostly looking for the usual stuff a truck driver can expect when under inspection. Officials will be checking your brakes, lighting, suspension and more. They will also check to see if you as the driver are up to par with your log books, your HOS and that you are buckled up.

To prepare yourself for this inspection, take a good look at your truck and yourself. Pre-inspect your truck by checking your mirrors and load securement. Look over your brakes and look closely for loose, non-functioning, or cracked parts. Take a look at your lighting as well, are your lamps the proper color, do they provide enough visibility?

Knowing the condition of your truck before an inspection will help you immensely- no one wants to be blindsided by a red mark on their checklist. If you notice something is wrong with your truck, fix it. It may cost, but try thinking about it like this; if you did it later (which you will eventually have to) you will not only have the fee of the repair, but you’ll also have to deal with the mark on your inspection.

Now take a look at yourself, when I say take a look at yourself, I don’t just mean look in the mirror, I mean take a look at your driving habits, etc. How often do you drive drowsy? Do you always buckle up? The CVSA put it right when they said “You wouldn’t drive your truck on empty so why would you let yourself drive on empty?” Whether empty is not having food or not having sleep, you need to take care of yourself. After all, safety in the truck begins with the driver.

If you’re up to par with your safety regulations, logbooks, HOS, etc. then you should be ready for the Roadcheck. Make driving safe part of your regular day, don’t just think “Oh, there’s an inspection coming, I better straighten up.” If you do this, then you will always be ready for whatever may be down the road.

With winter ending and the air starting to grow warm, we know that spring and summer are coming. Along with the seasons will be trips to the lake, barbeques, camping, and construction. Beside the blooming flowers and the lush grass are the orange cones and the blinking arrows. Now as every driver out there knows, construction zones mean construction driving- a four letter word (words) in the trucking industry.

Successfully navigating through a construction zone is never easy. With signs, slower speeds, people merging all over the place, it can be a stressful environment. All this considered, it’s extremely important to make sure you are doing all you can to be the safest driver possible. To help you out, here are a few tips and facts on driving through a work zone.

According to the FWA (Federal Highway Administration) the number of work zone fatalities has been on a decline since 2000. Being aware when you’re in a construction zone is key to successfully navigating through the work. The most common crash in a highway work zone is the rear-end collision, so keep an eye on the vehicle in front of you and leave plenty of stopping distance. The National Safety Council recommends a three second following distance for light vehicles, and six seconds for heavy vehicles like commercial trucks.

“It is also important to be aware of individuals operating within work zones,” Bob Kreuzer, second VP for Travelers Construction Risk Control, said. “Such workers typically wear bright colors during the day and retro-reflective gear when working in the dark, so fleet operators should keep an eye out for these individuals and keep a safe distance from them when passing through.”

When coming upon a construction zone, be aware of the signs. Signage is one of the most important aspects of navigating work zones as they will tell you if you need to move over or if you are coming up on men working on the road. In the trucking industry, the signal to move over can be a frustrating one as cars may speed up and try to pass a truck. To help with this, Kreuzer suggested to drive defensively and always be on the lookout for aggressive drivers.

One of the best things you can do to navigate construction work is, during your trip plan, look ahead. Most highway agencies will have some kind of alert available online that will tell you where construction will be. Most of them will also suggest a detour so you can avoid it completely.

If you do get stuck in a construction zone, just be patient and calmly get through it. “Don’t start making phone calls inside the work zone,” Kreuzer said. “This is a place where you want your full attention on your driving. Wait until you are out and parked somewhere safe to make that call.”

So as the orange cones start popping up, just grit your teeth and remember to stay safe and alert and do what you can to just enjoy the ride.

Sleep Apnea is a condition that is talked about a lot throughout the trucking industry. Many trucking companies require their drivers to be tested for this sleeping condition and, if it is found that they have it, to take the proper steps to control it. Yes, Sleep Apnea is a big problem in trucking, but what is it exactly and why is it such a big concern?

Wikipedia defines sleep apnea as “a sleep disorder characterized by abnormal pauses in breathing or instances of abnormally low breathing during sleep.” It is these moments without breath that cause interruptions in sleep, often times without you even knowing it.

There are three forms of sleep apnea; central, obstructive, and complex. Central sleep apnea is when your airway is not blocked, but your brain fails to signal your muscles to breathe. Obstructive sleep apnea is caused by a blockage of the airway, usually when the soft tissue in the rear of the throat collapses and closes during sleep. Obstructive sleep apnea is the most common. The last form, complex sleep apnea, or mixed sleep apnea, is a combination of the two.

As I stated before, a person with sleep apnea usually doesn’t wake when they stop breathing so they don’t even know they have the condition. Many of the effects of this disorder are things that many adults live with on a day-to-day basis. They include daytime sleepiness, forgetfulness, difficulty paying attention and a few other effects that are felt when a person is getting a lack of sleep. Most adults don’t get as much sleep as they would like, I know I certainly don’t. We may be experiencing many or even all of these symptoms, but how do you know if it’s sleep apnea?

There are some tests you can take on the internet; questionnaires that will have you rate your symptoms and give you a probability of whether or not you have sleep apnea. Of course, the most surefire way to find out if you have this condition is to visit with a physician. They might want to then to a sleep study which will help you get a proper diagnosis.

So now that we know what sleep apnea is and how to learn whether or not we have it, how does it affect us, and more specifically how does it affect the trucking industry?

When untreated, sleep apnea can actually cause problems like high blood pressure, weight gain, headaches and it can even shorten life! In trucking, getting your sleep is imperative, you simply cannot be drowsy behind the wheel. You need to be alert and ready for whatever may happen, the instant that it happens.

Sleep apnea in the trucking industry is very serious. If you suspect you may have this condition, see a physician immediately and find out what you can do to rectify it. Don’t let lack of sleep drain anymore of your life away, wake up and enjoy the road ahead.

When you’re a truck driver, the road is your world. It’s where you work, eat and sleep. While you are out there on the open pavement, you know that there is one thing that hold all the drivers together and that is the rules of the road.

Know your bridge height. The number of accidents caused by trucks trying to go under a bridge that is not high enough is staggering. Bridges have been broken, trailers ruined and products scattered on the pavement, it’s not a pretty sight. All this can be solves so easily by two bits of information. One, know the height of your truck and trailer. Two, know the height of the bridge you are trying to go under. Most bridges have a yellow sign that will tell you how high the bridge is. If you don’t see one, just figure that it’s better to be safe than sorry and find another route.

Another rule of the road is to share the road. You are a big truck and there are a lot of little cars out there that you have to play nice with. Always pay attention to what other drivers are doing around you. The FMCSA has even suggested that you assume the other drivers will do something wrong or dangerous and always be ready for it.  You can control the actions of only you and remember that just because someone doesn’t share the road with you, you don’t need to act the same way.

This last rule goes hand in hand with the one above, it is generally practicing safe driving. Now, when someone says safe driving it opens a whole slew of thought, there are so many different ways to be a safe or unsafe driver. Generally, a few things to be a safe driver are don’t drive distracted, don’t drive drowsy and don’t drive while intoxicated.

The rules of the road are what keeps you safe in your truck driving job. Whether you are a rookie or a veteran driver, you learn a new rule almost every day. The road is ever changing, and along with it are the rules of the road.