Sharing the road with trucks and motorcycles

Two kinds of road user need extra care, for opposite reasons. Large trucks and buses are so big that they cannot see or stop like a car; motorcycles are so small that drivers simply do not notice them. Adjust for both and you avoid the crashes that hurt them most.

Big vehicles: blind spots and space

A transport truck has huge blind spots — beside the cab, directly behind, and across several lanes to the right. A good rule of thumb: if you cannot see the driver in the truck's side mirror, they cannot see you. Trucks also need far more distance to stop and often swing wide to make right turns, so never cut in front of one or squeeze up its right side at an intersection.

• Stay out of the blind spots
  Don't linger beside or right behind a large truck; pass decisively.
• Give trucks room to stop
  When you pull in front of one, leave a big gap — they cannot brake like a car.
• Beware wide right turns
  A truck turning right may swing left first; never move up on its right.
• Watch for spray and wind
  In rain or wind, large vehicles throw spray and push air that can unsettle your car.

Motorcycles: look twice

Motorcycles are small and easy to miss, especially at intersections and in your blind spot — the shoulder-check that finds a hidden car is what finds a hidden motorcycle. Give a motorcycle the full width of a lane; never try to share a lane beside one. And leave more following distance behind a bike, because it can stop faster than you expect.