A new national campaign is set to be launched to warn road users of the dangers involved with relying on a truck’s indicator to signal that it’s safe to overtake.
The Australian Trucking Association (ATA) has revealed it will run the campaign about the dangers of signalling to overtake, urging motorists not to rely on a truck’s indicator.
A current informal system sees some motorists watch a truck’s flashing right indicator and use that as a signal that it’s safe to overtake the heavy vehicle.
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ATA chair Mark Parry is urging truck drivers to stop using their turn lights in this way due to the potential for confusion.
“There have been incidents where motorists have assumed that a blinking right hand turn signal on a truck meant that it was safe to overtake, only to find that the truck driver was pulling out to go around an obstacle or was about to turn,” Parry says.
“In addition to being dangerously ambiguous, using your turn lights to show that it’s safe to overtake is illegal.
“Under the road rules, you should only use your direction indicators when you’re required or as part of the vehicle’s hazard warning lights.”
Instead, members of the industry have suggested using a two-way radio as a better method to communicate with drivers and coordinate overtakes when it is safe to do so.
Parry says motorists should only overtake trucks if they had a clear view of any approaching traffic and could see it was safe.