Earlier today while driving on the freeway, a big rig decided to switch lanes into the lane I was driving on without actually realizing I was there.

What do you guys do in situations similar to this? I always seem to panic and swerve into the other lane beside me, praying that no one is there. Thankfully, every single time this happens to me, I don't hit anyone.

 

Go autocross and learn about car control and help with your "panic". Start with your local SCCA club, if not there are many BMW or Miata clubs that usually have autocross events. Take an autocross class if you can afford it with your local club. If not just sign up for an event and at registration tell them you're new. They will be quite helpful and most likely find you an instructor to help. Typical autocross event usually runs anywhere from $25-50 at least that's the rate around Chicago.

https://www.scca.com/pages/what-is-autocross

 

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try to not drive in the blind spot of trucks. They can't always see you and you are much safer when you are not next to them. If you can't see the driver in his fender mirrors then he/she can't see you.

 

Right, as someone else pointed out, prevention would be best. Try to stay away from being besides a truck. Accelerate or decelerate to get away. Minimize that time you have to be besides a truck.

If you're besides a truck (or any vehicle) and it passes into your lane, just honk your horn and brake. NEVER SWERVE. It's just too risky. As you've indicated with your concerns, there may certainly be a car in the other lane. You've been crazy lucky you've never hit someone by accident swerving into other lanes. By swerving, you could also risk completely losing control of your car, spinning, and possibly even rolling over.

Swerving out of the way should be the very very last option. It should be at the very bottom of the list.

 

I learned everything I know about driving with "Big Rigs" on the road from watching the movie "Duel" with Dennis Weaver.

So I probably shouldn't comment.

 

The odds of the guy sitting high up in the tractor trailer cab here the pathetic beep beep of a Fit horn is slim to none. Drive defensively, stay out of those blind spots. Glad you survived the close encounter of the semi kind.

 

a large fedex truck did this to me a month or so ago while i was in the GK on the expressway .. unfortunately with no power to pass the truck with the weak GK engine, i was forced off into the shoulder.

drove around and sounded the roadrunner horn at the guy since i saw his window was down.
i should've taken down his plate and reported to fedex..

 

This is one of the downsides to driving this small car. I am always cautious and I try not to get next to a semi. If I have to pass one I gun it and get around them ASAP. Always keep an eye on the lanes next to you so that if you have to jump over, you don't hit someone else.

 

Something to practice is an emergency lane change. I remember taking the the motorcycle safety foundations basic Rider course and that was one of the skills they had you practice. It's not a bad idea to do the same practice in a car so you know how the car behaves in that kind of situation.

Rather than just swerving into a lane blindly, get on the brakes and get over as far as you can in your lane. Then look to see if the next lane is clear. The front of the tractor trailer will come over first so hopefully reducing your speed will get you out of the way.

 

This. Or anybody else. Every vehicle had blind spots, and the ones on trucks are huge. Standard procedure in defensive driving. Stay out of blind spots at all times.

 

It helps a lot if your side mirrors have been adjusted to minimize or eliminate your own blind spots. I learned that it's very possible to have no blind spot if you push your side view mirrors almost all the way OUT away from the side of your car. This will show the lane next to you and by the time the car on your side is out of your side mirror, he will be next to you, so there is no blind spot. I have not had a near-miss lane change since I started doing this. Some cars are too big to put the mirrors all the way out - you have to play with the zone for SUVs and trucks, and it takes some getting used to not to be looking at the side of your own car, but it WORKS a treat and is so worth it. That is how I know if I am clear to make a sudden lane change, or not. Saved my ass many times.

 

That is actually the correct way to use your side mirrors. They are blindspot mirrors.. Most people have them adjusted incorrectly and show too much of what is rearward. Side mirror and rearview mirror coverage should not overlap.

 

This is how I have mine setup but I also added small convex mirrors as well.

So while driving a car passing is in my rear view. Once they are no longer in rear view, they show up on the side mirror. Once they are gone from side mirror I can see them on the side of the car. It took my wife a while to get used to my car being setup that way but now that she is, she much prefers it to the way her Dad taught her.

 

Yeah I was resistant at first too, until I actually tried it and it worked. I've never actually hit anyone changing lanes, but I've come damn close many times. Our parents would just look over their shoulders before changing lanes, but when you adjust the mirrors outward, there is really no need to do that. Hubby is set in his ways but I'm breaking him down little by little. What the hell good does it do looking at yourself and the side of your car?? You're supposed to be watching out for other cars!

My Fit replacement is a Rav4 and the C pillars are too wide, as well as the rear seat headrests being in the mix - even when I have the mirrors adjusted correctly, it's possible for a car to be in that area and at least partially unseen, so I am more cautious and frequently check over my shoulder before changing lanes. I've only had the car 2 weeks so it's possible that I haven't quite found the sweet spot for the mirrors.

 

We just moved our daughter into a rear facing convertible and it was hard to see out the right side when she was in the middle seat position. The mirrors setup correctly really helped. I've since moved her behind the driver and it's not an issue.

 

problem with the Fit on the expressway is that it is so underpowered, most of then not, the only option you have is to get behind a vehicle or swerve out of the way.. have to be a very patient driver.

 

True on the underpowered aspect. You just have to know your car's limitations when it comes to acceleration, and yes, patience and being very defensive always watching out for other drivers. Big trucks have always made me nervous whatever car I am driving, so I was extra-cautious in the Fit.

 

I wonder how they will solve this problem with self-driving cars that are promised to be in the market by 2020 https://tranio.com/world/spotlight/s...y-market_5354/ It's like programmers will have to program the vehicle for certain scenarios, that can be dangerous either to the passengers or to the people and cars around. Atm I can't see what they will do about it

 

I would never trust a self-driving vehicle. Not that people-driven vehicles are trust-worthy....