Hasta La Ideas

In earlier days I drove an ambulance, and had to qualify for it by performing a litany of predetermined driving feats. Doing backwards figure-8’s around lampposts in a parking lot and backing it into a precise position in the garage using nothing more than the rearview mirrors (sides only, the center is obviously blocked) are things you can only get good at through constant practice. But the point is, you can practice and can improve, because the mirrors on an ambulance are fixed and the cab does not articulate from the rest of the ambulance. In other words, when you look in the mirror, you always see the exact same space relative to the body of the truck, whether you’re driving in a straight line or turning.

This is not true in tractor trailers, which obviously articulate. Drivers of tractor trailers have it far tougher when they take corners, because the articulation of the truck temporarily creates horrendously huge blind spots. This is especially a problem in cities, where an 18-wheeler may have bicyclists riding in close proximity to them. With the intense amount of things occupying a driver’s attention in an urban environment, if they have not had their eyes glued to their mirrors directly before making a turn, and then kept their eyes on that same mirror all throughout the turn (as unlikely as it is practically impossible), there can be trouble. Take a look at this video put together by Transport for London, illustrating the blind spot:

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