OHIO — As drivers, we share the roads with a lot of different vehicles, including semi trucks. Things can turn deadly if precautions are not taken by us and those truck drivers.
In the last five years, there have been almost 87,000 crashes in the State of Ohio.
"You never know if the truck driver next to you on the highway has been trained safely," Steve Gold, Founder and CEO of 160 Driving Academy, said.
Gold founded 160 Driving Academy believes training is key in preventing these accidents. He created 160 Driving Academy when he couldn't find a safe, state-certified commercial driving school for his company.
At Gold's school, this means ensuring all students complete 160 hours of training, which includes 40 hours in the classroom, 10 hours in the instruction yard, and 10 hours on the road.
"The reason why there are so many accidents is that there are a lot of people who don't take truck driving seriously," Gold said.
Eric Evans is not one of those people. He's a training manager with 160 Driving Academy and a 20-year veteran of the roads.
News 5 Transportation Reporter Caitlin Hunt rode along with Evans in one of the school's semi trucks, and she asked him a few questions about accidents she sees on the road involving semis, including roll-overs.
"There can be multiple issues for a semi roll over," Evans said. "Number one is load shift. If the trailer is not loaded correctly and something in the trailer shifts while they're turning, all that momentum from when the load shifts from left to right will push the truck over."
Evans said that while truck drivers need to know how to drive safely, there are also things car drivers need to be aware of. The most important thing is to stop at the stop lines painted on the roads.
"Drivers," Evans said. "They don't understand how long it takes for a semi truck to stop. A normal vehicle can stop between 60 and 100 feet at 60 miles per hour. A semi truck can take more than a football field to stop."
Additionally, drivers must be aware of their position when driving around semis.
"The rear is our number one blind spot," Evans said. "Then there's a small spot in the rear area on the driver's side. There's a larger one on the passenger's side."
Despite the numerous risks and precautions that need to be taken, there are still people eager to fill the thousands of commercial driving positions available across the country.
News 5 met Lucas Llewellyn while he was at the tail end of his training with 160 Driving Academy. His boss encouraged him and others to train for a commercial driver's license to fill some positions at work.
"The hardest thing is actually learning the maneuver of the truck itself," he said. "Because it's not like driving a regular vehicle, so you turn one way, and it's the opposite on the trailer."
Llewellyn said he's taking his training seriously to protect himself and others. He's excited to start a new chapter and learn a new skill.
"I never thought I could parallel park a semi truck," he said. "That's awesome!"
