Everyone has some bad habits that are for the most part harmless. However, bad trucking habits can actually be pretty dangerous. Therefore, it’s important to know what kind of habits you should try to break…
Bad Trucking Habits: What Not To Do
Procrastinate
One of the bad trucking habits to avoid is procrastinating. Putting things off until the last minute might’ve been doable in school. But, doing so now could end up costing you your job. That’s exactly why you don’t want to wait to plan your trucking routes until you’re about to leave.
If you procrastinate, then you could miss important announcements about traffic, construction, or the weather. This can leave you scrambling to try and find an alternative. Furthermore, you’ll also end up rushing to try and get to your destination, which could cause you to try more riskier than usual.
Using your phone
Smartphones are pretty handy devices for truck drivers. They can act as a way to keep in contact with others, play music, and work as a GPS, just to name a few features. Still, they can also be a significant distraction. That’s why using your phone while driving is another of the bad trucking habits to avoid.
Using your phone to text while driving is dangerous even when in a regular sized car. As you might expect, this risk becomes even greater when behind the wheel of a tractor trailer. That’s why you should keep you phone out of your hands when behind the wheel. If you need to use it as a GPS, it helps to have a holder that’ll keep it secure.
Eating and driving
With how much time you spend on the road, it can seem like a good idea to eat while driving. After all, this should allow you to get your meals in while also making progress on your trip. However, eating while driving is a bad trucking habit that can be just as dangerous as texting while driving.
Eating while driving generally means you’ll need to take one hand off the wheel to do so. This lessens the control you have over your truck. Plus, if you drop or spill something, that’ll distract you even more. This is why it’s best to stop and eat instead.