Reply #68: As a former tractor trailer driver of 20 + years driving, here are a few hazards not mentioned

[A HERETIC I AM]

1) Straddling debris. Most drivers with any experience have seen items of various sizes laying in the roadway. Trucks have way more ground clearance than a typical passenger car and will often just straddle debris, whether it is a tire husk, a 4X4 or whatever that might hit the undercarriage or even the front valance of a car. Following too closely makes it impossible to see these hazards and avoid them.

2) Tire blowouts. Heavy trucks aren't called "18 wheelers" for nothing. Even properly maintained and inflated tires fail on occasion. If a driver has checked all of his 18 tires before his trip, he might not stop for 400 miles or more and an awful lot can happen in 5 or 6 hours of driving. If you are right behind a tractor trailer when it loses a tire, not only will it scare the hell out of you, your car is GOING TO BE HIT by tire debris. A recent Mythbusters episode dealt with the lethality of flying truck tire tread.

3) Sand blasting. I don't know about you, but i kind of like the idea that there is paint on the front of my car. A tractor Trailer produces an enormous amount of turbulence UNDER the vehicle too and any grit or light debris on the road is kicked up and swirls around behind the truck. If the idea of driving inside a sand blasting booth appeals to you, you deserve the damage your paint job will suffer.

This has been mentioned upthread but here is my take: As a driver, it bugs the hell out of me when i am being tailgated. I can't see you and therefore you are yet another hazard i have to contend with. Holders of Commercial Drivers Licenses are held to a higher safety standard than automobile drivers and it is unlikely that an investigating officer will not question the trucker as to why he allowed the tailgater to continue with that behavior.