Sharing the road
You are driving behind a large truck. How can you tell whether the truck driver can see you?
- If you cannot see the truck's side mirrors, the driver cannot see you. Correct answer
- If you can see the truck's brake lights, the driver can see you.
- Truck drivers can always see vehicles directly behind them.
Why
Large trucks have big mirrors and a better view forward, but they also have large blind spots, the No Zones, where a car simply disappears. The handbook's test is simple: if you cannot see the truck's side mirrors, the driver cannot see you. Brake lights tell you nothing about the driver's field of view, and the space directly behind a trailer is one of those blind spots. Keep well back, remember that a truck at 55 mph can need up to 400 feet to stop compared with about 300 for a car, and never move in front of one and slow down suddenly.
Where this comes from
California Driver's Handbook, June 2025 edition. The correct answer is If you cannot see the truck's side mirrors, the driver cannot see you.
The rule behind this one
Sharing the road in California goes through the whole topic, with the page of the California Driver's Handbook behind every rule.
More on sharing the road
- Which statement about sharing the road with motorcycles in California is correct?
- A streetcar is stopped at a safety zone marked on the road. What is the fastest you may pass it?
- Which vehicles are required to stop before crossing railroad tracks, even when no train is in sight?
- A school bus with its red lights flashing is stopped on the far side of a divided highway that has two lanes in each direction. Must you stop?