Category: driving in severe weather

Cold Weather Safety Tips For Truckers!

Posted on November 2, 2021 by - driver safety, Driver safety improvement, driving in severe weather, winter weather

The holiday season is approaching, which means the temperature outside is dropping fast throughout the country.

As these temperatures continue to fall, it’s important to be prepared for difficult driving conditions. 

Here are some tips and tricks to help keep you safe and warm this winter!

Keep Proper Supplies At Hand 

In case you find yourself stranded in the cold, it’s important to have the proper supplies to keep you warm and get you back on the road.

Here are some important supplies to keep in your cab that may help you this winter:

  • Extra coats, jackets, and gloves
  • Spare Blankets
  • Jumper Cables
  • Snow scrapers
  • Flashlights

Inspect Your Vehicle Before You Head Out

Freezing temperatures can often be harmful to your truck and cause further issues. Because of this, it’s important to give your truck a quick inspection before you head out so you don’t find yourself stranded and cold on the side of the road later!

Check your tire pressure, engine oil, antifreeze levels, and any other parts of your vehicle that you may be wary of. No one knows their truck better than you do!

Avoid Black Ice If You Can

Black Ice is a layer of ice that forms on top of roads and is often hard to detect. Hitting a batch of this ice can result in your tires spinning or skidding across the road.

If you hit a patch of black ice, don’t panic! Instead of mashing down on the brake and locking up your tires, try to keep the steering wheel straight and don’t hit the brake. Only make subtle turns until you pass the patch of ice, or else you could find yourself spinning out of control.

Black Ice is typically seen in the early morning and late evenings when the sun isn’t shining directly on the road. So, if you’re on the roads at this time, try to keep an eye out and avoid driving over it if possible! 

If you think Black ice may be around, give yourself some extra space between other vehicles just in case they don’t see it and lose control!

Stay Safe And Bundle Up!

Everyone here at ExpressTruckTax wishes you safe travels during the upcoming season. As the demand for food and gifts skyrocket, we wish safe travels to all of our truckers out there!

Thank you for all that you do to keep this country moving forward!

Preparing Your Rig For Summer

Posted on May 19, 2017 by - driving in severe weather, heat, heat wave, hot trucking, summer driving, summer maintenance, Summer rig, summer weather, Tornado, trucking in severe weather, trucking tornado

Hot hot hot! Who turned up the heat?! Oh, it was Mother nature, so it looks like we can’t really do anything about it but try and keep cool. While summer usually brings about fun in the pool or at the beach, it’s important to remember that not all time spent in the sun is fun. Summer can wreak havoc on our skin and trucks! Be sure to prepare yourself and your rig for rising summer temperatures.

Summer Tips For Your Rig 

Did you know that the trucker’s tan is a real thing? Usually, the arm on your driver’s side door can end up looking darker than the other and you could end up with a farmer’s tan! Also, protecting yourself from skin cancer caused by the sun’s damaging UV rays is pretty important.

To protect yourself from the sun wear a hat, long sleeves, and sunglasses. If you don’t want to wear long sleeves you can put sunscreens up on your windows or apply sunscreen lotion to your skin every few hours.

Summer is hot, don’t you know it! As temperatures rise you’ll find yourself becoming more dehydrated, so be sure to drink pretty of water during your trips. Soda won’t hydrate you like water and you don’t want to end up with a massive headache going down the interstate because you aren’t hydrated. Also, keep a few gallons of your water around in your rig in case of an emergency.

Heat during the summer adds an extra amount of stress on your engine so check your levels of oil, coolant, and the critical fluids that keep your engine cool and running. Remember, it’s always great to carry those fluids in your rig in case you need to top them off to prevent your rig from overheating and to avoid more expensive issues.

It’s a great time to check your AC for leaks because you don’t want it to go out during a trip. A few days without AC can be unbearably hot. Also, your belts are affected by heat too. Check them often to make sure that they’re still in place and feel them to make sure they’re still strong. If they’re spongy feelings, crackling, or look shiny on the underside then they need to be replaced.

Guess what can’t take the heat? Tires. Summer temperatures make them wear faster, so check their tread, and look for cracks. If one tire is under inflated then extra pressure will be put on the others, causing them to wear faster! Also, with your tires wearing faster then you may need to align them, so keep an eye out for that.

Summer is notorious for some crazy weather. Storms pop up out of nowhere, and that’s not good because when the rain suddenly hits the hot road during the summer then oils rise, making the pavement extra slippery until water washes the oils away. Be aware of the weather, and slow down when it rains.

Also, be on the lookout for severe summer storms. Rain that comes out of nowhere is one thing, but what about when you’re driving through the South and a major storm with hail, strong winds, and even tornados are possible? Know when to stop and wait out a storm or take a different route to avoid them.

Happy Summer

Summer is arguably the most fun season of all, so take a break to have some fun down by the water. However, the heat creates a whole new set of issues, so make sure that you and your rig are prepared to face them.

For more trucking blogs visit ExpressTruckTax.com and please share your tips about summer driving in the comment section below.