Today’s truck drivers are among the most visible citizens on the highways, and the motoring public tends to criticize some of their driving practices. So it’s up to responsible truck drivers to influence the public’s opinion. Be a defensive driver, anticipate what other drivers might do and compensate for them.

  1. Obstructing traffic: Slowing down on hills is often unavoidable, but good drivers can reduce the delay to faster vehicles by being aware of the following traffic and staying to the right, allowing following traffic to pass. It is a good safety practice to activate your hazard lights when unable to keep to traffic speed. Never use your left-turn signals to tell following motorists it is safe to pass. It is against the law and tends to confuse other drivers, who may think you are signaling a left turn or lane change.
  2. Improper passing: Some truck drivers switch on their turn signals and immediately pull out into traffic when the traffic stream is too close and dense. Another complaint is the practice of pulling out to pass another large vehicle on a multiple-lane highway when the difference in speed is so small that the manoeuvre obstructs fol­lowing traffic for an unreasonable period of time. Avoid these errors.
  3. Bluffing: Drivers who use the large size of their vehicles to intimidate others and force their way through traffic may create serious hazards.
  4. Following: When a number of trucks pull onto a highway after a stop, drivers should do so at intervals that will allow them to leave sufficient space. Commercial motor vehicles must maintain a minimum distance of at least 60 metres (200 ft.) between themselves and other vehicles when on a highway at a speed exceeding 60 km/h (40 mph), except when overtaking and passing another motor vehicle.
  5. Speed limiter: Requirements will apply to vehicles that were manufactured in 1995 or newer with a manufacturer’s gross vehicle weight rating (MGVWR) of 11,794 kilograms (26,000 lbs.) or more. Only commercial motor vehicles with an electronically controlled engine are subject to these regulatory requirements.

The speed-limiting system of these commercial motor vehicles shall be properly set to no more than 105 km/h (65 mph).

Buses, mobile cranes, motor homes, ambulances, cardiac-arrest emergency vehicles and fire apparatuses will be exempt from the regulation.