How do you merge onto the highway? Do you creep up the lane, pull into traffic at a 'safe' speed and then accelerate? If this is how you do it then you're among the problems that truckers have to battle. That lane or ramp is technically called the acceleration lane. It's called that because it's where incoming traffic is supposed to match speeds with highway traffic before merging onto the road. If you merge and you're going 20 M.P.H. slower than the rest of traffic you're not being safe, you're an obstacle. Imagine what it's like to be at the controls of a big rig weighing several thousand pounds with a guardrail on the right and traffic on the left. Suddenly someone merges onto the highway at a much slower speed than traffic. What's the trucker supposed to do? It's either lock the brakes or plow your car. This could have been avoided if you hit the highway at highway speed.

Of course there's always the chance the trucker didn't notice you at all. Your car might stand out in your eyes but to a trucker it's just another of the millions of vehicles out on the road. It's your job to make it stand out, and it's easy to do, just turn on the lights. It might seem like a trivial thing but turning on your lights will make you much more likely to be seen, and possibly avoided, by the trucker in the big rig.

Even if you have your lights on the trucker can't see you if you ride in their blind spots, and there are plenty of blind spots when your total vehicle length is 60' or more. The rule of thumb is if you can't see a truck's mirrors then the truck can't see you. When you exit those blind spots to pass do your part to let the trucker know. All it takes is a flash of your headlights and the driver will know you're alongside. However it's important to pass that truck once you're out there instead of just riding along. It might seem innocent enough to ride behind the truck, but it can be disastrous if the trucker has to make a sudden maneuver to avoid trouble ahead.

The biggest thing anyone can do on the road to make them safer is to pay attention, and that's getting tougher and tougher to do. We do a lot of things at the wheel that we shouldn't. We talk and text on our cell phones while eating burritos and even watching a movie on the car's built in DVD player. Sometimes we're oblivious to what's going on out on the highway until it's too late. Hang up the phone, put down the burrito and save the movie until you get home. Otherwise you might not make it.

Don't be one of the things that make trucking such a tough job. Truck accidents can be avoided, eventually lowering the prices of the goods they haul, if we all do our part on the highway. Next time you're on the road pay attention, be smart, and help a trucker put in an uneventful day at the wheel.