Maintaining Your Car

A moving truck is typically a necessity when you need to move into a new home. However, you need to put some thought into safety when you're driving a large vehicle that you may not be familiar with operating.

The following are six safety mistakes to avoid when you use a rented moving truck:

Driving in conditions where the weather is creating severe hazards.

It can be tempting to work on your move even when the weather is bad because you're on a schedule and need to have everything out of your old home by a certain date.

However, driving an unfamiliar and large moving truck in hazardous weather can be very dangerous. If possible, you should always delay your move until another day with better weather or simply wait a few hours for a storm to pass over rather than driving in extremely windy, rainy, or snowy conditions. 

Driving at excessively high speeds.

Moving trucks are far heavier and more difficult to control than a typical passenger vehicle. You, therefore, don't want to drive them at very fast speeds because it will be easier for them to get out of control.

Moves tend to be hectic and stressful, but you shouldn't let that cause you to drive at unsafe speeds. 

Exceeding the weight limits of the rental truck.

Unfortunately, a lot of those who rent a moving truck are unaware of what the maximum weight capacity for the vehicle is. 

You should familiarize yourself with a vehicle's weight limits before you load it and begin using it. This way, you will avoid creating an unsafe situation by driving a vehicle that is too heavy. If your vehicle's trailer has exceeded its weight capacity, it will be harder to control and more likely to cause an accident. 

Going too fast when turning.

One of the most difficult things to deal with when driving a large moving truck is going around turns. You need to go extra slow around turns to prevent the circular motion of the vehicle from causing the vehicle to veer off track.  

Driving over difficult, unfamiliar terrain with a rental truck you're not used to driving.

If you're not used to driving a large truck, you shouldn't drive a rental truck over unfamiliar or dangerous terrain while you're moving.

If you need to drive your moving truck over irregular terrain like dirt roads or over mountainous areas, it might be best to simply hire professional movers to handle the task of driving. Contact a company like Allard Rentals for more information and assistance.