Semi-trucks are responsible for transporting around 72 percent of all the products sold in the U.S. To complete their work promptly, truckers often carry large loads. They are also a link in the supply chain that brings goods into the U.S. and exports goods produced or manufactured here to the rest of the world. Also known as commercial motor vehicles, semi-trucks, or tractor-trailers, these trucks are massive vehicles—the average semi-truck measures around 72 feet long, 13.5 feet high, and 8.5 feet wide. When fully loaded, a semi-truck can weigh up to 80,000 pounds, which is around 20 to 30 times heavier than most passenger cars with which it shares the roadway. Many of the hazards related to semi-trucks have to do with their size, such as: Significant blind spots on all four sides of the vehicle. A blind spot is an area around the vehicle that the driver cannot see through their side or rearview mirrors. The bigger the vehicle, the more prominent the blind spot is. An increased distance is needed to bring the vehicle to a safe stop. No vehicle “stops on a dime.” Instead, braking is a process that involves the driver perceiving a hazard on the roadway, responding to the hazard by depressing the brakes, and the vehicle continuing to travel as the brakes pull the weight of it to a complete stop. A high center of gravity can make the truck prone to tipping over during an accident, when the driver is attempting to avoid an accident by swerving, or when they are trying to negotiate a corner or a steep curve while driving too fast. The high ground clearance can cause smaller vehicles to slip between the truck’s underside and the roadway during an accident. A surplus of miles traveled in a small amount of time while carrying a lot of weight, leading to parts such as the brakes and tires wearing prematurely. Because of this, commercial truck drivers must perform a pre-trip inspection to look for visible signs of wear before every journey, and truck owners are required to have the vehicle serviced and maintained regularly. When negotiating a sharp corner, the need to make wide turns requires the truck driver to swing the vehicle’s front wheels into another travel lane, posing the risk that an unaware driver will be struck by the turning truck or caught between the truck and the curb when turning.