Articles Tagged with tailgate

On April 21, a box truck crashed into an 18-wheeler, hitting the left corner of the trailer. Upon impact, the box truck immediately caught fire and was destroyed. According to police, the box truck was found to be following too closely, and when the 18-wheeler slowed, the box truck was unable to stop in time. The incident occurred on I-20 just west of Exit 172, northwest of Thomson, Georgia, and both lanes of I-20 were closed for almost two hours following the crash.

Unfortunately, this is not an isolated event. In fact, according to The Large Truck Crash Causation Study (LTCCS) conducted by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 5 percent of truck crashes occurred when the driver was following another vehicle too closely.

What constitutes following too closely? According to GA Code § 40-6-49 (2024), vehicles on the roadway “shall not follow another vehicle more closely than is reasonable and prudent, having due regard for the speed of such vehicles and the traffic upon and the condition of the highway.” This guidance assumes drivers will use judgement but does not define what constitutes “reasonable and prudent.” For more specific guidelines, The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration advises drivers to leave at least one second for every 10 feet of vehicle length when driving below 40 mph. This translates to about 4 seconds when driving behind a tractor trailer. To measure how many seconds are between you and the vehicle in front, find a stationary object such as a light pole and count off after the vehicle in front passes it, using “one one thousand, two one thousand, three one thousand.”