A Trucker’s Guide To Navigating Labor Day Weekend

Post Date - Sep 2, 2022

This Labor Day weekend, the road will be full of drivers who are taking advantage of the

long weekend and trying to fit in one last hurrah for summer. This is notoriously one of

the busiest holiday travel weekends in the year. The National Safety Council estimates

that deaths on the road over Labor Day weekend typically make up more than 12% of

all traffic fatalities in September each year. As truck drivers, it is our responsibility to be

ready for the additional traffic on the road, do whatever we can to minimize risk and

keep the highways as safe as possible. Here are some great tips for navigating the

Labor Day weekend:

Plan ahead - It’s always good practice to have a good trip planning routine. If you’re not

already doing this, a holiday weekend like Labor Day is a great time to start. Make sure

you look at your route ahead of time, so you know where you’re going. Plan where to

take breaks, look for trouble areas such as construction, road closures or tolls, check

the forecast along your route, and communicate with your dispatcher as your ETA

changes. You’ll have less stress driving if you already know what to expect and don’t

feel pressed for time.

Leave early - Give yourself plenty of time to get to your destination. If you’re able to

leave early, any delays won’t stress you out.

Give yourself plenty of room - With more vehicles on the road, which means more

distracted or inattentive drivers will be out there too. Leave yourself extra room between

other vehicles whenever possible to give yourself more time to stop. As truckers, we

know that drivers cut off semi-trucks often because they’re not paying attention or

simply don’t realize that we can’t stop right away. Drive defensively by giving yourself

some extra space.

Don’t skip your truck checks - pre-and post-trip truck checks are always important, so

don’t skip them on a holiday weekend just because you may be pressed for time. Make

sure you’re checking everything over to minimize the likelihood of breaking down -

which can be more expensive to fix on a holiday weekend - and to keep everyone safe.

Follow work zone speed limits - Even though it’s a holiday weekend, it’s still possible

there will be construction crews out on the interstates and highways. Always follow the

posted speed limits and watch out for workers.

Secure your load - Labor Day has a higher cargo theft rate than other times of the

year. Make sure your load is secure and locked, do not leave your load unattended and

consider using theft-resistant mechanisms for your tracer and trailer. We also

recommend keeping an open line of communication with customers to ensure that they

will be open for delivery when you plan to arrive during the holiday weekend.