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How to avoid jackknifing on the road

Losing control of your vehicle in Oklahoma is always a scary prospect, but if you’re a trucker, you might have to deal with a situation that’s nearly exclusive to commercial vehicles. When a commercial truck spins out of control, the trailer can flip around the cab at a 90-degree angle in a process called jackknifing. Fortunately, jackknifing can be avoided if the driver stays calm and remembers not to overcorrect.

How can you avoid jackknifing your truck?

When you start to skid on the highway, your first thought might be to overcorrect by turning in the other direction so that the truck doesn’t slide off the road. However, this can quickly lead to a jackknife scenario. To avoid a motor vehicle accident, you should steer your truck in the direction of the skid. Don’t turn the wheel too quickly; just stay calm and continue in the same direction.

At this point, you should take your feet off the brakes and focus on straightening the vehicle as much as possible. Once you’ve straightened your truck, you can start to slow down and look for a safe place to pull off to the side of the road.

When you’re on the road, it’s important to avoid putting yourself in a position that might cause your truck to skid or jackknife. Avoid speeding, especially if you’re driving in poor weather conditions. Make sure you keep a distance between your truck and the vehicle in front of you so that you have plenty of space to stop or pull off to the side of the road if necessary. You should also avoid engaging in distracted driving behaviors like eating, drinking or talking on the phone.

What makes truck accidents more dangerous?

Commercial trucks are much larger than passenger vehicles and often carry tons of cargo. If a passenger vehicle gets hit by a truck, the vehicle and their driver might take the brunt of the damage. People in passenger vehicles make up the majority of deaths related to truck accidents. If you’ve been injured in a truck accident, you might wish to hire an attorney to pursue legal action against the driver or their trucking company.

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