When you drive in close proximity to commercial vehicles, you likely experience a natural sense of nervousness because of how much bigger and higher they are than you. Your brain makes you feel fear because there is a threat posed by that bigger vehicle to you as a passenger or driver of a smaller, nearby vehicle.
These big vehicles can cause crashes that leave people in smaller passenger vehicles either dead or struggling with catastrophic injuries. The risk these trucks pose to the public is why you want to give them plenty of space when you have to drive close to them, especially if you must drive closely at high speeds, such as on the interstate.
Big vehicles take longer to maneuver and stop
One of the most straightforward arguments for giving plenty of space to commercial trucks on public roads would be the fact that their massive size makes it much more difficult for them to quickly stop, turn or maneuver if something changes suddenly in front of them.
Their larger size means that they develop more momentum when traveling at high speeds, which contributes to the difficulty in maneuvering or stopping them. Merging too closely in front of a commercial truck, especially one driving faster than you, could be very dangerous.
The closer you are, the harder it is to the truck driver to see you
The big size of a commercial truck doesn’t just make it harder for a trucker to maneuver. They also have massive blind spots that can prevent the trucker from seeing you. If you can’t see the trucker’s mirrors, they probably can’t see you. It is usually wise to give trucks plenty of space in every direction to ensure that they have the space they need to safely maneuver and that the driver inside can see you.