Mirrors should be checked prior to the beginning of a trip. On a vehicle with a trailer, mirror adjustment can only be checked accurately if the connected trailer is straight.

Be cautious when driving near people who are working on disabled vehicles. The task will likely consume their attention, so they may not be aware of traffic or other hazards on the road.

Before a trip, you should ensure that air reaches all air brakes on all trailers by opening up the rear emergency line and service line shut-off valves to listen for escaping air. Close both shut-off valves before beginning to drive.

During a pre-trip inspection, you should activate your lights, then get out of the vehicle to look at them.

Factors that affect how much liquid is safe to load into your tank include how much the liquid will expand in transit, the weight of the liquid, and legal weight limits. If you are loading a particularly dense liquid, take special care to ensure that you do not exceed legal weight limits.

Hauling liquids in a tank requires special skill. Due to the danger of liquid surge, carrying liquid cargo is more difficult than carrying solid cargo.

To remain aware of hazards behind your vehicle when backing, you should frequently check your mirrors on both sides of the vehicle. Have a helper watch your blind spots whenever possible.

Correctly following the steps to couple and uncouple trailers is vital to safely operating a combination vehicle. Before backing your tractor under the trailer while coupling, make sure your trailer brakes are locked.

If you are being tailgated, it is best to allow more room to open up in front of your vehicle. This will help you avoid the need for sudden stops, which could result in the tailgater rear-ending you, and will make it easier for the tailgater to pass. Speeding up may only make things more dangerous by prompting the other driver to continue tailgating you at a higher speed.

Be aware of the risk of liquid surge when driving tanks transporting liquid cargo. To prevent the negative affects of surge on your driving, you should start, slow, and stop very smoothly.

If you are involved in a crash, the three basic things you need to do are protect the area, notify the proper authorities, and care for anyone injured. It is important to protect the accident site immediately after the accident occurs to help prevent another crash from happening in the same location.

If you aren't sure that you have space for your vehicle to safely fit underneath an overhead object, slow down and seek an alternate route if possible.

If you must stop on the shoulder of a road, put out your emergency warning devices within 10 minutes of stopping. When pulling off the road to stop, be sure to turn on your four-way emergency flashers.

If you must stop on the side of the road, it is important that you turn on your emergency flashers as a warning to other drivers. This is especially important if you are stopped at night.

If you encounter a distracted driver, make sure to give them plenty of room. Be very careful if you pass their vehicle because the driver may be unaware of your presence and drift into your lane.

Good drivers look down the road at least 12 to 15 seconds ahead of their vehicles. This makes it possible to identify hazards early, when drivers are more likely to have time to respond appropriately.

You should examine your tires at the beginning of every trip and after every stop to ensure that they are properly inflated. The only acceptable way to check tire pressure is to use a tire pressure gauge.

Driving in fog is always dangerous. If possible, you should always avoid driving under foggy conditions.

After the engine is started, the warning lights and buzzers should deactivate immediately. The charging circuit warning, oil, coolant, and Anti-Lock Braking System (ABS) lights should all turn off.

Liquids expand when warmed, so a tank carrying liquid must also contain additional space to accommodate for this expansion. The extra space is known as "outage."