When the winter weather descends, it doesn’t stop large trucks having to make their deliveries. Still, these icy conditions transform their regular routes into treacherous paths that require skill, experience, and preparedness. When snow blankets the highways and bridges get icy, truck drivers demand extra caution and care to ensure everyone makes it home safely.
The Risks of Winter Trucking
During the winter months, trucking and car accidents increase significantly. While most accidents during the holiday season can be attributed to congested holiday traffic, intoxicated drivers, or pressures to meet delivery demands, about 15% of all accidents are caused by icy, winter road conditions.
Keeping the wheels of commerce turning even in the winter works best when everyone prioritizes safety. The poorly maintained roads leave them icy, slushy, and dangerous by reducing tire traction and making trucks unable to maneuver or stop safely. Truck drivers should report any hazardous road conditions to local authorities and plan routes according to the local snow removing efforts. The Federal Highway Administration’s best practices for snow removal and ice control can reduce accident rates by up to 88%. That’s a percentage worth changing your route for.
Common Dangers Truckers Face During Winter
You can prepare yourself and your truck for the winter months on the road, but you will still face the dangers they bring to your route. The unique challenges of trucking throughout the winter can put you and others in danger but the more prepared a trucker is for them, the safer and prepared they can be.
Common dangers truckers face throughout the winter are:
- Snow and icy roads
- Reduced visibility
- Wind Storms
- Inadequate road maintenance
- Inconsistent snow removal or ice control
- Limited access to safe parking for breaks or rest
- Other drivers
Understanding how to brake efficiently, keep a lookout for black ice, and drive through low visibility can serve you well, but you are not alone on the road. Ensuring that you lower your speed and leave extra following distance from other drivers who may not be as experienced in driving through winter road conditions is essential to everyone’s safety.
How to Prepare Your Truck for Winter Roads
Preparing your truck for winter should be done during the fall before the cold weather blankets everything in a gorgeous layer of white. Planning and organizing your truck to make every delivery and stay warm and comfortable is essential to help you thrive on your winter routes.
Dashing through the snow means extra preparedness and work for your truck by preparing and checking through some of these essentials:
- Cab’s heater
- Wiper fluid
- Air compression
- Battery
- Chains
- CB Radio
- Emergency supplies
Ensuring your truck is prepared with chains and any winter road regulations, which vary by state, gives you peace of mind and trust in your equipment. Ensuring your emergency kit is stocked and refreshed can save you if you are stranded. Emergency kits should have warm clothes, blankets, water, a first aid kit, and unperishable foods. These should be checked and restocked before winter, and throughout the season before every trip you pull out for.
Winter Truck Driving Techniques for Safety
A snow day falls from the sky and seems like a wonder, but it can seem like a danger for truck drivers and others on the road. Truck driving during snowy months requires that you pay close attention to the road and do everything you can to remain safe.
Techniques such as these will keep you safe on the road:
- Take it Slow! Take it Slow! Take it Slow: The weather outside is frightful, and while you may be focused on safety, others on the road may be focused on how late they are somewhere. Every vehicle on the road is able to lose control, and you need to gauge everything by how quickly you can react to out of control vehicles or a pile up.
- Stop Rudolph, Stop: When trying to brake during the winter it’s not the same as braking on normal road conditions. Knowing how to brake effectively during the winter means braking as gently as possible to avoid losing control. Lightly pumping the brakes will prevent you from losing control, and with a reasonable following distance, you should be able to stop safely.
- The Roads Outside are Frightful: Identifying black ice means you will have adequate time to either avoid it or drive safely through it. Black ice is nearly invisible, but keeping an eye out for spots of darker color on the road is your first sign. If you come across black ice, reduce your speed as much as possible and stay in one lane until you have regained traction.
What to Do in a Winter Weather Emergency
The most dire situation for a trucker during the winter months is a winter weather emergency where a driver is stranded on the road due to blizzard conditions. In these emergencies, drivers have no choice but to pull over and rely on their emergency kits to get them through until the roads are safe again or help arrives.
If you ever find yourself stranded in your truck you should:
- Stay in the vehicle
- Turn on hazard lights
- Reach out to your dispatcher
- Contact emergency services
- Run the engine intermittently to warm up
- Keep the exhaust clear of snow
- Ensure that you allow fresh air to circulate in your cabin periodically
This is why preparation is key. Ensuring that your emergency kit is prepared for days or even up to a week of supplies sounds excessive, but if ever you need it you will be prepared.
Why Winter Truck Safety is a Shared Responsibility
We understand that when your wheels aren’t turning, you aren’t earning, and that phrase alone can put pressure on truckers to try to brave the harsh elements of a winter storm and the road conditions they bring. Truck safety during the winter months doesn’t just fall on the driver but also on the trucking companies and dispatchers to ensure that their truckers have navigable routes and the experience to handle the ones they take on. If you or someone you know has been pressured by a trucking company’s deadlines and demands, contact Truck.Law today. Negligence by transportation companies has devastating and deadly consequences, and their cases require knowledgeable attorneys to take them on. Contact us today to explore your legal options, as you may be entitled to compensation. Just as you drive across the country, we take cases nationwide.
