4 Quick Summer Trucking Tips – Summer is just about upon us and the temps are getting hotter. While we all crave the warmth and sunshine after a cold winter and chilly spring, this is a good time to go over some tips to stay safe while trucking during the dog days of summer. Here are four quick summer trucking tips to keep yourself and other motorists safe on the roadways.
1. Check Your Brakes
Time to do a once-over of your truck. Did you know that temperature can have a huge impact on your brakes? It’s true. When temperatures soar, brake fading is a possibility. This is when you lose friction in your brakes because the components can’t adequately absorb the heat any longer.
As a result, this condition paves the way for increased stopping distances and decreased brake life performance. Routine maintenance, especially on your brakes, ensures conditions such as brake fading won’t happen.
2. Properly Inflate Your Tires
The summer heat can cause tire blowouts. With the rise in temperatures, tires tend to inflate. When those inflated tires get into contact with the hot road, this added friction, along with high speeds, can spell disaster – mainly in the form of dangerous tire blowouts.
Before heading out on a trip, make sure your tires are properly inflated. This will help prevent tire blowouts and extend the lifespan of your tires.
3. Protect Yourself From the Sun
Many truckers don’t realize how much sun exposure they are getting while driving. Failure to protect your skin from the harmful UV rays of the sun can lead to an increased risk for skin cancer. In fact, statistics show that truckers have a higher rate of skin cancer, particularly melanoma, than others. And 75 percent of those skin cancers occur on the left side of the body, where truckers tend to rest their arms out the window.
Wear sunscreen, don a cap, and use window covers or a sun sleeve to protect yourself from the dangers of the sun.
4. Be Prepared for More Traffic
The summer is chock full of holidays and vacations, giving many people an excuse to hit the roads and get away for a bit. The 4th of July, Labor Day, summer vacations: these are just a few of the things people are partaking in. During the summer, there are more people traveling the roads than at any other time of the year. Be aware of this up-tick in traffic, gather your patience, and be prepared to stay alert more than ever.
Contact Taylor Oil
For more summer time road trucking tips, or to learn how we keep you moving with mobile fuel services, contact Taylor Oil today.