How Trucks Should Drive
Are road accidents the result of bad luck—or bad behavior?
On Lebanese highways, one recurring question keeps resurfacing: why do heavy trucks routinely occupy the left lane, ignore lane discipline, and maneuver as if traffic rules do not apply to them? In many countries, improper lane use by trucks is a serious offense, penalized with heavy fines and license suspensions. In Lebanon, however, this behavior has become almost normalized.
This is not a technical problem. It is a cultural one.
The law is clear: trucks should drive on the right, respect speed limits, and operate within strict safety rules. Yet every day, we witness trucks overtaking from the left, blocking fast lanes, speeding, and making dangerous maneuvers. These violations are rarely accidental, and even more rarely sanctioned.
The root of the problem lies in weak enforcement and selective accountability. When traffic tickets are dismissed through favoritism or political intervention, violations cease to carry consequences. Over time, this creates a mindset where rules are optional and safety becomes secondary.
Strict enforcement is not punitive, it is corrective. Countries that have transformed road safety did not do so through awareness campaigns alone, but by consistently applying the law without exceptions. When violations carry real consequences, behavior changes. Order replaces chaos.
Education also plays a critical role. Drivers, especially professional truck drivers, must be trained to understand that they carry more than cargo. They carry responsibility. A single mistake by a heavy vehicle can cost lives.
If Lebanon is serious about improving road safety, the solution is straightforward: apply the law, impose strict penalties, end favoritism, and invest in proper driver education. There is no shortcut.
Big wheels demand big responsibility, and the road should never be the price we pay for ignoring that truth.