Driving in a snowstorm is a pain the know you-know-what for people that are driving a car, SUV or a passenger truck. The roads get slippery, the visibility gets cloudy and best of luck trying to stop on a dime if the roads are even a bit icy.
As difficult as it is to drive a regular passenger vehicle in the winter, it’s nearly impossible to explain how tough it can be to drive a commercial truck in blistery conditions. It takes a certain skillset and level of concentration to be able to drive a 16-wheeler or some other type of expansive commercial truck when it’s sunny and a balmy 80 degrees outside; when it’s cold, dark, dreary and snowy, it takes everything to a whole new level.
Fortunately, the overwhelming majority of experienced truck drivers are deft, cautious drivers who know how to keep themselves and other drivers on the road safe. That said, truck drivers feel fear like the rest of us do when driving our vehicles in less than stellar weather, but due to the size of their load, they have to be extra cautious.
According to an article from an NBC news station, many drivers utilize 3 techniques to combat the difficulty of treacherous weather. Let’s a look at the tactics below: (Please note, this is just what the article found; it does not mean that all drivers/truck driving companies employ these tactics).
- Go right at the weather, albeit using extreme caution on the road knowing full well you will not be able to go as fast as you typically would.
- Wait out the weather and drive all night in hopes time can be made up when (hopefully) the weather clears up.
- Get off the road, and hope it doesn’t force a late delivery.
To state the obvious, none of these options is ideal, but as you often have to in life, you need to make the best of a gloomy situation.
If you’re a truck driver reading this blog, we would love to hear from you in the comments section about your personal stories driving in bad weather or your tactics of response when a storm hits.