TRI-CITIES, Wash. – Windy conditions are causing semi truck drivers to be more cautious on the road, especially on the highway.
Truck Driver Marc Ledoux said driving a semi truck is hard enough already, but even more so when the wind is as strong as it is now.
“Then you’ve got these wind conditions, called the golf sail area,,” Ledoux said. “The wind hits the golf sail area, it pushes on us.”
If a car is in front of Ledoux when he is trying to maintain a full football field worth of distance, he said he might not have enough time to stop, which can be even more dangerous.
“A lot of these cars don’t understand that,” he said. “They have come flying out of the left lane to get it in the right lane and it hits the brakes or that car in front of them hits their brakes, they’re gone. I cannot stop.”
Ledoux said he is always checking his environment to keep himself and others safe, especially because he has to hold his steering wheel a little bit tighter in heavy winds.
If he is holding his wheel to help fight the wind, and then goes under an overpass where there is no wind at all, the truck is going to swerve, so he has to constantly pay attention so he can react, he said.
Sara Clasen, Washington State Patrol trooper, said people tend to follow too closely on the highway, which can be a major problem because it could result in collisions and backups, and possibly lead to even more accidents.
“Follow at a distance in which you can react to an emergency, so if that vehicle is going side to side or say it’s … got maybe ladders or something on top of it that could be blown off or a strap breaks from the wind, … they have enough time to react to hazard in the roadway that may be caused from those vehicles,” she said.
Ledoux said he has almost been in accidents a few times, including when someone made a last minute decision on the highway.
“I had a lady do that one time and there were three kids looking out the back window and she slammed on our brakes to get off an off ramp,” he said. “All I could see was me hitting the back of this car, killing three kids. And it is terrible.”
He recommends other cars should be aware of their surroundings as well, especially because the upcoming months will bring wetter and icier road conditions.
