Speed is a common cause of accidents on Australian roads and when excess speed is combined with heavy vehicles it can be a recipe for disaster.
Trucks need a greater stopping distance simply because of their weight and if they are speeding when a car or other hazard appears in front of them on the road then they may not be able to stop in time to avoid a collision.
Recently the New South Wales police force reminded owners and operators of heavy vehicles to be more conscious about following speed limits on the roads.
The reminder was prompted by the detection of three speeding trucks in one day recently on the 12th April.
The trucking specialists at http://www.fullyloaded.com.au had more information on the story:
New South Wales Police is continuing its push to keep speeding trucks in the spotlight, issuing another warning to the heavy vehicle industry in the wake of three incidents on the one day.
Officers caught three truck drivers on April 12 exceeding the 100km/h speed limit for heavy vehicles in NSW.
The first incident occurred just after midnight when police detected a prime mover allegedly travelling at 121km/h in a 100km/h zone on the Hume Highway at Jugiong.
The second incident occurred at 8.10am when a B-double was caught allegedly travelling at 123km/h on the Hume Highway at Kyeamba.
The third incident occurred at 8.25am when a B-double was allegedly detected travelling at 120km/h on the Newell Highway at Warkton, near the Hickeys Falls rest area.
“We cannot and will not tolerate speeding on NSW roads, especially not by heavy vehicles,” Superintendent Stuart Smith says.
“All too often we witness the shocking tragedy one speeding truck can cause.
“Heavy vehicles make up only 3 percent of vehicle registrations and 7 percent of kilometres travelled by NSW vehicles. However, they are involved in almost 20 percent of road fatalities.”
Source:http://www.fullyloaded.com.au/industry-news/articleid/83374.aspx
Speeding is dangerous regardless of who you are but especially if you are behind the wheel of a heavy vehicle.
Whilst it may be tempting to put the foot down out on the open road especially with what can sometimes be tight deadlines around pick up and delivery remember that road conditions can change quickly and hazards can appear from blind spots and speeding is just not worth it.
Peter Cutforth is a Director at Urban E-Learning, a global elearning and web strategy firm based in George St Brisbane. Peter's interests extend to training, safety and compliance, online marketing, and Mobile Apps.
