Big Rigs, Bad Weather Can Be Scary Combination For Other Drivers

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) - Driving in the rain can be tricky, but driving in the rain with big rigs can be downright scary.

It's textbook driving on what not to do when you're sharing the road with a big rig in the rain — the driver follows too close and the splash back from the semi is nearly blinding.

Moves like that could lead to scenes like the smash-up on Interstate 5 and 43rd Avenue in the middle of our Tuesday night drenching involving a big rig and a car.

There was no word on the cause but the driver of the vehicle got the worst of it. She was taken to the hospital but is expected to be OK.

It can be one of the scariest elements of driving in bad weather - sharing the road with those big, bad truckers.

"It's terrible," one motorist said. "I really dislike driving behind trucks."

Nate McCarty and his team travel the country with a big rig simulator that shows what it's like to drive a semi. They spread the word about what drivers need to do to stay safe.

"You always want to pass on the left, that's our smallest blind spot, and don't cut off trucks," McCarty advised.

And don't assume they can see you. If you can't see the trucker's face through his side mirror, he has no idea you're there.

As for that other problem, driving near big rigs in the rain, truckers say take away that fear factor by leaving more room.

"That's the safe thing to do on a day like this is to back off on a truck when you have a lot of splash back on a wet road," McCarty said.

As simple as that sounds, driving an 18-wheeler is not simple. CBS13's Tony Lopez took a turn in the simulator on Tuesday. In his five attempts taking the wheel, he crashed five times.