With all the time you spend behind the wheel during your truck driving career, your commercial truck is almost like an extension of yourself. You know right away when something about the truck doesn’t feel right while you’re driving. You also know how quickly tire trouble can occur. It could be that you drove over a particularly sharp piece of debris on the road. Or perhaps your tire treads experienced excessive wear. No matter what the cause of the problem is, you should take the time to review your tire safety knowledge before inquiring about driving jobs with Bay & Bay Transportation in Atlanta, GA.
Before you leave the parking lot, remember to conduct a full pre-trip inspection. This includes watching tire pressure, looking for any troubling visual cues in the tires like cuts or irregular wear, and measuring tread depth. Remember that you need a minimum of 4/32-inch depth on your steer tires and 2/32-inch depth on all other tires.
Even the most careful drivers encounter tire failures during their truck driving careers.
There are a number of signs your truck will give you if tire trouble arises:
A vibration is a sign that a tire has gone flat.
A heavy feeling in the steering wheel may occur if one of your front tires goes flat.
Your trailer may begin fishtailing if a rear tire goes flat. This may not happen if your truck is equipped with dual rear tires.
A loud bang means a tire has blown.
Your truck may not always react right away. If you notice one of the signs listed above, pull over safely on an emergency ramp or wide shoulder and inspect each tire on your vehicle.
A tire failure can be a startling experience if you don’t know how to handle your vehicle in emergency situations. That being said, you can’t begin a truck driving job without knowing how to drive a commercial truck safely in all scenarios. Experienced drivers know how to maintain control of their trucks, but a little review is always helpful.
Do not brake quickly. Just like when driving on icy roads, doing so could cause you to lose control of the truck even faster. Wait to brake until the vehicle has slowed down considerably, then begin to gently apply the brakes. When you’ve come to a complete stop, walk around the vehicle and inspect each tire to diagnose the issue. Then, call the local roadside assistance provider for help with replacing the bad tire.
Safety is a critical part of sharing the road with both smaller private vehicles and fellow large commercial vehicles. Call Bay & Bay Transportation at 888-801-3026 or email recruiting@bayandbay.com to learn more about our driving jobs in Atlanta, GA. Our commitment to driver safety is what makes our nationwide fleet so successful.