Dear Motor Medics,
I travel 50 miles each way to work each day and share the road with a lot of large long-haul trucks. It seems that they always think they own the road. They are either going too fast or too slow or cutting me off or any other number of things that seem just plain rude to me. Why can’t they be more like other vehicles on the road? Not to say that all other vehicles are perfect drivers but it just seems as though the trucks are worse.
Dan in Bennington Vermont

Dear Dan,
Trucks can’t be like cars because there not cars. Most truck drivers are very courteous and with a little help from you they can be even better drivers. You have to remember that even the largest SUV, is a high-performance sports car when compared to a multi-ton truck. When you pull onto the interstate you can adjust your speed to stay clear of the trucks much faster than they can. Don’t expect them to move quickly for you and never position yourself directly in front of a truck, if you stop quickly, they can’t. If you feel you are being cut off often where are you driving? If you can’t see their mirrors then the driver can’t see you. Don’t hog the passing lane going the speed limit either. They are slow uphill and fast down so share the road and leave the enforcement to the officers.
Take care, the Motor Medics

Dear Motor Medics,
It’s time to buy a new car, Fred has been a good van but it’s time to give him a rest. Yes, I call my van Fred. We name all of our vehicles because they always have personality. We drive a 2000 Chevy Astro van and we made it 245,000 miles. Not bad for all original major components. We do listen to your show and follow your maintenance advice of course. We finally had the air conditioning fail and decided it is the end for Fred. We just want to know one thing. We always felt safe in Fred but never had a collision or factual evidence to back the safety up so how do we go about finding out how safe our new vehicle will be? Not sure if our new vehicle will be new or a couple years old yet.
Barbara in Mason City Iowa

Dear Barbara,
Sorry to hear about Fred. Sound like he treated you well. When looking for another vehicle we suggest that you check out the web site www. safercars.gov where you can find and compare vehicle safety ratings. The NHTSA National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has certain testing specifications posted there that will aide you in making a decision based on safety factors. Reliability is also important when purchasing any vehicle so don’t forget to look to providers such as consumer reports to help you get informed before making a final decision about a vehicle.
Take care, the Motor Medics