Survey: Less than 1 in 20 American adults understand truck blind spots

Ways for motorists to ensure safe driving around tractor-trailers

Findit Parts suggests motorists use the following tips when driving around semi-trucks to ensure safety:

Don’t drive distracted: Stay off cell phones, and keep your eyes on the road when driving, especially around big trucks.
Keep a safe distance: FMCSA recommends about five seconds of distance between a car and a semi at speeds of more than 40 mph.
Learn semis' blind spots: Use Findit Parts’ graphic below to learn semis' blind spots.
Move away from blind spots: Once you’ve learned blind spots, try your best not to linger in them. Pass at a consistent and safe speed, and keep a safe distance when traveling beside or behind a large commercial vehicle.
Don’t cut off a truck: When overtaking a Class 8 truck, be sure to leave plenty of room before merging back into their lane.
Always pass on the left: Truck drivers expect cars to pass on the left, and keeping the right lane open ensures the truck driver can move over safely.
Look for the truck driver’s face: Some trailers have a posted graphic that reads: “If you can’t see my mirrors, I can’t see you.” This is important for other motorists to remember while traveling alongside semi-trucks. Ensure you’re visible to a driver by looking for their face in truck mirrors.
Err on the side of caution: The more space you give a truck, often the safer you’re making it for yourself and the truck driver. Remember to give plenty of space for the truck when passing, merging, or following.

Findit Parts surveyed more than 1,000 Americans 18 and older and discovered that less than 5% of them know the locations of a semi-truck's blind spots. This lack of truck knowledge could lead to dangerous behaviors on the road and contribute to crashes involving commercial vehicles.

This data also coincides with a 2004 study by the University of Michigan analyzing fatal truck and car crashes from 1994 and 1995 (the most recent data available). The study found that 70% of crashes between large trucks and cars occurred due to passenger car driver behavior alone.

While truck-car crash fatalities have declined since 1995, the safety of the motoring public and truck drivers should always be a priority. Breaking down the results of Findit Parts’ survey could help shed light on the dangers of the motoring public’s lack of knowledge about driving alongside heavy-duty trucks.

Americans don’t know a semi-truck's blind spots

Results from Findit Parts’ survey reveal that less than 5% (4.64%) of American adults can accurately identify all the blind spots on a tractor-trailer. That’s fewer than 1 in every 20 American adults.

Additionally, four out of five Americans (80%) surveyed were unaware that the area directly in front of a semi is a blind spot.

“Truck drivers can't detect cars that are less than 20 feet ahead of their cab; the drivers sit too high off the ground to be able to see what's directly in front of them,” Findit Parts explained. “This means that a majority of automobile drivers in the U.S. mistakenly think their vehicle is visible whenever they're in front of a semi.”

Findit Parts also reported that 64% of survey respondents admitted to seeing other motorists change lanes “immediately in front of a large truck” and into a truck drivers’ blind spot.

Less than 5% (4.64%) of American adults can accurately identify all the blind spots on a tractor-trailer—that’s fewer than 1 in every 20 American adults.

Lack of truck knowledge leads to death

Judging by Findit Parts’ survey results, one could conclude that American motorists are ill prepared for driving alongside semi-trucks. While 31 U.S. states require teens to take driver’s education courses, the survey revealed that 50% of Americans believe driver’s ed courses didn’t adequately prepare them for safe driving around semis.

Properly educating the motoring public about safety when driving around semis could save lives. In 2021, 3,243 lives were ended in crashes involving large trucks, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System. That number decreased slightly in 2022 with 3,124 deaths.

However, different sets of data report different findings. According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s 2023 Pocket Guide to Large Truck and Bus Statistics, fatalities involving large trucks are much higher. In 2021, FMCSA reported 5,788 deaths associated with crashes involving large trucks. The data for 2022 and 2023 is not yet available.

While the number of deaths from truck-car crashes has trended down over the decades, motorist and truck driver safety should always be paramount.

Findit Parts concludes that the lack of truck blind spot knowledge among American adults could explain why so many crashes between trucks and cars are the fault of the car driver. However, survey results also revealed that 65% of respondents who feel unsafe driving along semi-trucks blame the truck or truck driver.

In a time when one accident can close a trucking company because of nuclear verdicts, results from this survey highlight the necessity of truck driver coaching and defensive driving coaching. The fate of your trucking company could depend on it.