Mountain driving is tough and risky with any vehicle. When you add a huge truck to the equation, you’ll need to drive with a lot of expertise, attention, and care.
Staying attentive and adequately preparing for the journey is especially crucial while driving a truck on mountain roads.
We’ve compiled a list of the most important mountain road truck driving advice.
Continue reading to learn how to protect yourself and other drivers when driving on hilly roads.
Preparation
The first step in guaranteeing your safety on an upcoming trip that includes automated heavy truck mountain driving is to prepare. Start by looking at the route and see if there are any locations where other drivers have had problems in the past.
Make absolutely sure you’re informed about the weather, but also traffic and road limitations. Track the status of each of these items on a regular basis, preferably as near to your departure date as possible, since they are prone to change.
Before beginning any mountain driving with a semi-truck, make sure your vehicle is in perfect working order. This is essential before beginning any route, but it’s extremely important when weather and high gradients are a concern.
Prepare an emergency kit
Whether driving over flat meadows or mountain driving, every trucker needs a winter emergency pack. It’s always preferable to be ready for everything. Extra food, drink, flare, torches and batteries, warm clothing, and tire chains should all be included in your emergency bag.
When traveling to locations where cell coverage is scarce, CB radios come in handy.
Grade
Always consider road markings when it comes to the grade.
It is critical that you check for clearly marked indications rather than guessing the grade. It’s tough to assess the elevation with bare eyes, no matter how much expertise you have, so rely on the road markers.
Stable Speed
While this may seem self-evident, accidents occur all the time, proving that it must be repeated.
Keep a stable and slow pace while mountain driving. This is for your own protection as well as the protection of people around you.
Very often, drivers believe that since they are getting near the end of the mountain, they can accelerate.
This might encourage you to accelerate dangerously when it isn’t safe to do so. Keep paying attention to grade signs all the way down the mountain, especially as you get closer to the bottom.
Weather conditions
As previously said, it is critical to be aware of the weather conditions before embarking on your journey. When it comes to weather, a classic error is getting too comfortable on a road that you drive frequently.
If you regularly drive a mountain route and are confident in your abilities on that road, it’s fantastic!
However, it’s always a good idea to check the weather forecast. Any driver, even those who have traveled that route hundreds of times already, might get seriously injured by a piece of ice.
Fast drivers
Other vehicles will speed down the slope. They’re in completely different vehicles. Ignore those motorists. Allow them to pass; they could even honk at you.
Whatever else is going on around you, it’s critical that you stay safe and operate your vehicle at a calm and steady speed.
Runaway lanes
There’s a purpose why there are runaway lanes. Use a runaway lane if you’ve lost control of your truck and can’t manage your speed any more.
Allowing your vanity to get the better of you is a bad idea.
These sections are there for a reason, and there’s no disgrace in keeping yourself and others safe.