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There is no way to know if the limo driver carrying Tracy Morgan and others on the New Jersey Turnpike over the last weekend might have been able to take evasive action when the tractor trailer truck came barreling into the van. We will probably never know. However, there are still important lessons to be learned. The first is this: get away from big trucks.

Other points: Don’t drive along with a big rig 20 ft. off your back  bumper. Don’t slam on the brakes, ever, in front of one. Don’t count on the driver of the truck to save you in an emergency, you have to save yourself. Don’t drive along side a big truck in its near blind spot. Move through the  near blind spot and away from the truck as soon as possible. If you can’t pass the truck and go all the way around it, wait until you have room up front to do so.

Most people on the Interstate highways, from my personal experience, drive as if they are the only car or SUV there. They go where they want to go, change lanes without signaling and often without looking. They ride your bumper as if going five miles an hour faster is going to make everything wonderful in their life. And, most people don’t understand about big trucks, how dangerous and heavy they are and how they can’t stop quickly. A truck is more like a train than a car. The best thing, all the time, is stay out of their way and as far a away from as possible.

If an 18 wheeler overruns your little car, it will look like a crushed bug. So will everyone in your little car. The drivers of big trucks are often tired to the point of falling asleep. If something happens ahead of the truck, but too close to stop, the driver has two choices, in most cases: slam on the brakes and hope or change lanes, hoping there isn’t a car right next to his trailer. The driver can see most cars coming around, but not all cars, all the time.

When you are on a highway with varying speeds and with people jockeying for lane space, it is as important to look in your mirror as it is to look forward. You should know all the time what is behind you and what they are doing or trying to do. You should especially be aware if a big truck is approaching you, and you should go on alert if you see one coming up too fast.

Here’s the thing about the Morgan crash that applies generally. We don’t know what the limo driver was doing in regard to following the cars in front, but if you leave space, you have room to take action. If you are jammed in with other cars and trucks, you are stuck with whatever happens. Just speeding up might keep a truck or car from crashing into the back of your vehicle. If you have more room, you could go around the cars in front or even choose to run off onto the shoulder of the road (almost anything besides getting hit by a big truck).

So, in addition to checking your mirror every 30 seconds or so (you can watch it in your peripheral vision, too), one of the most important rules for high speed driving is this: DON’T JAM IN WITH THE OTHER CARS AND TRUCKS. First, it isn’t going to get you where you are going any faster and, second, it limits your ability to react to emergencies. Yet, every day, you will see groups of 5 to 30 cars running in a pack, as if being close is somehow better. This is stupid and dangerous. This isn’t Nascar, folks. Those people get paid to take very high risks and they are professionals besides, in addition to being locked in a steel cage, wearing a cross strap seat belt system, a helmet and padded surfaces all around. On the highway, we have none of those protections.

Stay back from the pack, pull up and pass only when there is room in front of the pack to do so. If you have to join the jam, get out of it and away as soon as possible. Above all, be wary of big trucks. The worst place to be is going slow right in front of one. The second worst place to be is stuck back along side the trailer where the driver might have trouble seeing you or might have to change into your lane if a car stops suddenly in front of him.

How do I know these things? Years of driving and family experience around big trucks, for one thing. For another, it is my intention to write a short pamphlet on “How to Survive on the Interstates” following the collection of a lot of information about it over the years. Stay tuned, please.

Doug Terry, 6.10.14

A few small tips on driving on Interstates and freeways:

1. Don’t run in packs. Get out and away from the groups of cars and trucks bunched together. (The ideal position on the highway is one pack of cars in front of you, another pack 1/4 to 1/2 mile in back of you.)

1(a). Don’t follow other cars and trucks closely and keep in mind, even if you leave plenty of space, the cars in front, following too closely, can telegraph an emergency back to you, even if you are leaving plenty of space. If they have to stop too quickly, so will you. One of the biggest causes of crashes is cars following others without giving space, not allowing time for braking or emergency maneuvers.

2. Adjust your speed before approaching slower cars or groups of cars. Adjust well before you have to. This allows a greater margin of safety for yourself and lets the other cars/trucks in back of you know that there is likely a slowdown coming.

3. Don’t drive directly in front of big trucks. Speed up, get away, change lanes, do what you have to to leave a considerable distance between your back bumper and big trucks.

4. Watch your mirror constantly. Know at all times what is beside you and behind you.

5. If you have to slow down suddenly with trucks behind you, take evasive action such as changing lanes or slowing and then continuing at a normal pace. Never make yourself a target for a truck or car behind you if you can help it.

6. NEVER CHANGE LANES ON AN INTERSTATE OR EXPRESSWAY WITHOUT SIGNALING. (Well, never say never. The one exception would be when facing an absolute emergency and you are certain there are no cars on the lanes next to you. Survival is the first goal, helping others to avoid crashes and survive, too, is equally important.)

7. Stay alert.

8. Take emergency action as soon as you see one developing. Don’t wait.

9. Learn how to do “emergency input” into your steering, such as quick lane maneuvers without running off the highway. The quick jerk of the steering wheel is something you need to learn before the emergency and involves a small, fast turn without panic and without running off the road (as a bigger turn of the wheel would likely do). A lot of people move the wheel too far and then correct back too far, also, resulting in a crash. Learn how to make emergency shifts/turns.

10. Don’t think you are going to crash before you do so. Train your brain to take action to avoid the crash, not get ready for impact. Turning and braking are the two most important skills, but turning, not braking, can save you more often in a high speed (60 and above) situation. It is a matter of training your brain to make an instant decision. Trust your brain and your reactions. They can handle it better than conscious decision making.

11. Engage in self criticism of your own driving. If you make a mistake, think about why you did and what went into the process that led up to the mistake. Learn from mistakes and get better all the time, all of your life. An example: you see it is likely a car ahead of you is about to change lanes, but you go ahead anyway. Just after you pass, the car moves over into your lane, almost crashing. This was, technically, that driver’s mistake, but you could have avoided the near crash by changing lanes, honking your horn to warn the driver or holding back to see what he was going to do. Being proactive, instead of reactive, means that you are always looking for ways to avoid crashes by your actions, not depending on others to do the right thing.