When you drive an 80,000-pound powerhouse commercial truck, it’s easy to think that you are immune to hazardous weather conditions. The reality is that high winds are especially dangerous for our big rigs. Knowing how to handle your vehicle during high winds makes truck driving safer for both you and those you share the road with when you drive with Bay & Bay Transportation in Atlanta, GA.
Treat high winds the same as you would when truck driving in heavy rains or on icy roads- with great caution. Turn off your cruise control, slow down, and increase the distance between your vehicle and the vehicle ahead of you. You may consider gearing down your transmission to help maneuver your trailer through strong winds. For your safety and the safety of other drivers on the road, pull off if you feel that conditions are too dangerous to continue driving in. As with any weather conditions, make sure you are wearing your seatbelt while truck driving, keep both hands on the wheel, and eyes alert to your surroundings.
The way you load your trailer can make a big difference in high winds. Having a heavy load weighing down your trailer can help stabilize it, but this won’t do much good unless the load is distributed to have a lower center of gravity. Never drive through high winds with an empty trailer or a partial load.
Why should we be so concerned with high winds and truck driving? It all comes down to physics. According to Bernoulli’s principle, increasing the velocity of a stream of fluid (or air) decreases the pressure. As your truck travels at faster speeds and interrupts a larger amount of air, you create an area of low pressure behind, under, and alongside your truck. That’s during a calm day. Add high winds into the mix and your truck could tip more easily.
Not only is safety a concern, but regulations come into play as well. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations state that truck drivers are to take extreme caution by reducing speeds and pulling over during any hazardous conditions. This includes high wind speeds. Check out section 392.14 for more details.
We encourage you to check the weather along your route any time you prepare to hit the road. Pay close attention to wind advisories for the locations along your route and keep watch for visual indicators like wind socks as you drive. Bay & Bay Transportation encourages our team to travel safely while truck driving in Atlanta, GA, and across the nation, no matter what weather conditions you encounter. Our drivers’ safety is our top priority.