Spike in Queensland truck-related crashes noted as driving tips are given
The Royal Automobile Club of Queensland (RACQ) has sought to raise public awareness on safe driving around trucks.
The move comes as Queensland experiences a truck-fatalities spike of the sort that caused serious concern in New South Wales and nearly two years after a similar message and video was made.
RACQ head of public policy Dr Rebecca Michael believes it is crucial motorists understood how differently heavy vehicles operated on roads.
“There’ve been 14 fatalities involving trucks on Queensland roads, as of 15 April – a 75 percent increase on same period last year,” Dr Michael says.
“While there’ve been significant improvements in heavy vehicle safety performance in recent years, the size of a truck means when they’re involved in a crash, it’s going to have a catastrophic impact.
“Trucks, simply due to their size and mass, need far more distance to stop, so give them space on the roads.
“Regardless of who’s at fault, a lighter vehicle will most likely come off second best with a heavy vehicle – so it’s important drivers take extra care when sharing the roads.”
The RACQ notes that in an interview with The Australian, the manager of the National Road Safety Partnership Program for the Australian Road Research Board, Jerome Carslake says the increase in heavy-vehicle movements in inner cities from major projects required an urgent collaborative and proactive approach to avoid heavy-vehicle collisions.
“You can put as much technology and guff in the heavy vehicles as you want, and you can slap them with bucket loads more regulations, but the reality is if someone in a car suddenly cuts off a truck and they can’t stop because of their size, it’s not the truck’s fault,” Carslake says.
RACQ offers these tips for safely sharing the road with heavy vehicles:
- don’t tailgate – give heavy vehicles the space they need
- don’t cut in front of a truck
- if you can’t see the mirrors of a heavy vehicle, its driver probably won’t be able to see you
- never overtake a turning truck, and don’t overtake a heavy vehicle on a curve or crest of a road
- have patience with truck drivers who may take longer to get moving after stopping at traffic lights or intersections – they are heavy vehicles and often the driver needs to move through 10 or more gears
- relax and remember the bigger picture behind the wheel – your life, and the lives of others, are more important than getting to your destination a few minutes quicker.