South Australia launched a new road safety campaign last week called ‘Share the Road’ as a part of their ongoing efforts to make the state’s roads safer for all road users.
This campaign in particular is designed to increase the awareness of the hazards of sharing the roads with heavy vehicles and how to negotiate them safely.
The truck experts at http://www.fullyloaded.com.au have more information on this important campaign:
Information on following a truck too closely, unsafe speeds, overtaking, driving between large trucks and changing lanes abruptly, is being featured.
The South Australian Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure (DPTI) has together with the transport industry produced two educational media clips that inform motorists on safe driving and overtaking trucks.
Figures on heavy vehicle crashes show transport operators are responsible for just one in four fatal crashes involving a passenger vehicle, pedestrian or cyclist, according to the South Australian Road Transport Association (SARTA).
SARTA Executive Director Steve Shearer says trucks are too often blamed for a collision with a car, cyclist or pedestrian.
“For the five years from 2008 to 2012, there were 77 fatal crashes involving heavy vehicles of which 86 percent involved in a light vehicle, pedestrian or cyclist,” Shearer says.
“The heavy vehicle driver was deemed responsible in just 26 percent of these crashes.”
He says it takes a heavy vehicle driver at least 200 metres to stop even when driving defensively.“The trauma when a collision does occur is often felt just as much by the helpless heavy vehicle driver as it is by the family, friends and community of those who have been killed or injured,” Shearer says.
Source: http://www.fullyloaded.com.au/industry-news/articleid/83392.aspx
Accidents that occur between heavy vehicles and cars can be devastating for both drivers, unfortunately it is usually the people that are in the car that are worse off simply because of the weight of the truck.
But responsibility cannot sole lay with heavy vehicle drivers as their trucks have limitations that mean they cannot stop quickly so it is up to other road users to drive sensibly and safely to help reduce the road toll.
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.
