Drivers are likely to see a large truck almost any time f the year- on a trip to the grocery store, traveling on the interstate or anywhere in between.  Use special caution. Passenger cars are at a terrible disadvantage in a collision with a big truck. Its large mass absorbs the energy generated during a crash infinitely better than a car.

When a car and a truck have an accident, 86 percent of the fatalities occur outside the truck. That means the people in the car are the ones most likely to die, according to the Office of Motor Carrier Research and Standards, a federal agency that analyzes data about about traffic and driving conditions on U. S. road ways.

According to the agency, drivers of passenger cars don’t know that trucks aren’t like cars. Trucks can’t stop or accelerate fast, make speedy lane changes or see vehicles behind or beside them. These are the most dangerous things that car drivers can do around a big rig:

• Drive while drowsy, reading, talking on the cell phone or texting
• Merge into traffic right in front of a truck
• Run a red light or a stop sign
• Drive too fast in a construction zone
• Follow a truck too closely
• Approach the back of a truck too fast
• Change lanes abruptly in front of a truck
• Fail to slow down in bad weather
• Drive near a truck’s left rear quarter, right front quarter or directly behind it
• Pass with insufficient headway

Add the word “bad” to this one. ATV accidents can have catastrophic consequences, including permanent debilitating injuries and even death. So you might want to do a little more thinking about using an ATV to get to your deer blind this fall.
The ATV rollover rate rivals that of SUVs. And no wonder. It has the same unsafe design. The ATV has the high center of gravity and narrow wheel base that make the SUV so dangerous. An ATV can roll over on a flat surface at 12 mph.

Yamaha Rhino has plenty of safety tips on its web site for hunters now that bow season is underway. None of them warn about the dangers facing unsuspecting ATV users. Some of the little sporty velocipedes lack doors, safety handles and other safety equipment. So arms and legs sticking out of the ATV can be crushed in a sudden rollover. Spinal cord injuries and brain injuries are not unheard of. So have fun out there. But take it from Jim Adler: Be very careful if you’re in an ATV.