With summer well underway, a common sight on the road are recreational vehicles, also known as RVs. These road behemoths may be intimidating to drive around, but they can be even worse for a new driver. The best way to avoid an auto accident with an RV is to know what goes on with the driver. Even a highly educated lawyer may have issues navigating the busy roads of Salt Lake City in an RV, so here are some tips on how to keep your road trips save this season.
Treat an RV Like a Semi
Most RVs sit higher than a typical car or truck. They can also be far longer than the average vehicle, which sometimes makes it harder to see smaller cars around them. When approaching an RV, drive as though you were approaching a semi on the freeway — meaning be wary not to get close behind the RV or drive in the RV’s blind spots. At least one auto accident in Salt Lake City could be avoided every year if drivers remembered to not drive in an RV’s blind spot.
Most Likely, It’s a Relatively Newer Driver
Before a person can operate a semi-truck, he or she typically needs a commercial driver’s license in order to legally drive. However, since an RV is a recreational vehicle, most states don’t require a CDL level of training to hit the open road — including Salt Lake City. So a well-meaning lawyer wanting to take her family out to Yellowstone for the first time in her new RV may feel out of her league, as she’s never driven such a vehicle. While the lawyer probably took some time to practice beforehand, to avoid an auto accident it’s best to err on the side of caution and treat an RV on the road as if it had a “Student Driver” sticker on the back.
Give Them Room to Breathe
As with any large vehicle, it can take more effort for the RV to stop if need be. Give RVs on the road a wide berth of space, both treating it like a semi and assuming that the driver may be the hypothetical new lawyer with no formal training on operating a large vehicle. If an auto accident does occur, this gives you and other drivers room to maneuver and prevent more serious injury, and a trip to a Salt Lake City hospital.