Have you ever considered how food, clothes, furniture or mobile phones get to the shops? Every item on every shelf across Australia has been on a truck at least once! Trucks are not only vital to our economy, but also to our way of life. As population grows, the demand for more goods and the means to transport them will increase. Consequently, there will be lots of jobs available in the industry. Visit our ‘jobseekers’ page to find out more information.
When you hit the road, it is important to know how to share the road with trucks. Trucks handle very differently to cars due to their weight and size for example.
Blind Spots
A blind spot is an area where the driver loses sight of objects around their vehicle. This diagram shows the blind spots encountered by truck drivers:
Blind spot diagram and information courtesy of the American Trucking Association’s Share the Road Program http://www.atastr.org/.
Please avoid these blind spots. Try not to travel along side a truck, so either move past or back off to allow the driver to see you. Avoid passing a truck on the left side as this blind spot runs the length of the truck and extends out 3 lanes. If you get close to the back of a truck will you be able to see its mirrors?
Remember: If you can’t see the truck’s mirrors, the driver will not be able to see you!
Stopping distances
Due to their size and weight, trucks take longer to stop than cars. Cutting in front of a truck poses a serious hazard if you then need to slow down. This is especially important to remember at intersections or traffic lights for instance. A truck driver should leave a large gap between itself and the vehicle in front, which provides room to brake and stop safely when necessary. This is not an invitation to move in front of the truck!
According to the Victoria Police website, A truck travelling at 60 kilometres per hour takes 10 metres longer to come to a complete stop than a car. At 100 k/ph, the truck takes almost 30 metres longer than a car to come to a complete stop.
For more tips on sharing the road safely with trucks, view the Truckie’s Top 10 Tips here.
Click on the fact sheets below for some more information:
2. Delivering Australia’s Freight
You can learn more about trucking by viewing the videos below:
This cute video by the Japan Trucking Association explores what might happen if trucks stop running
At the supermarket
View the outback from the cabin of a Roadtrain
The following video is of a day at Narrandera in western New South Wales, where some great trucking companies turned up with their trucks and trailers to show how different types of combinations of trailers handled a variety of country roads.
The reason we are always testing different combinations of trailers and other innovations is that greenhouse gas emissions are directly related to fuel consumption. A good way to make each transport journey more efficient is to make better use of each vehicle. We think, and we would appreciate your opinion, that the key to increased transport effectiveness is new, longer, safer vehicle combinations on better roads – but only those roads that are suitable for them – and better planning of journeys through technologies that monitor traffic flows.
This video was made by Volvo a few years ago to advertise its trucks. It features a neat truck (new models have been released since it was filmed) and matching trailers, smoothly handled by two professional drivers in great Australian settings. In the video, the first driver picks up his partner, who shares the driving. Two trailers are dropped off along the way – see how the driver checks his truck and trailer, disconnects and is on his way in minutes.
