Safe Trucks
The number of heavy vehicles on Victoria's roads is growing rapidly. Heavy vehicles pose a greater risk to other road users because they:
- Are heavier than cars or bikes, and this weight creates greater impact force if they crash.
- They take longer to stop.
Tips for heavy vehicle drivers:
- In recent years, more than 50% of truck drivers killed on the roads weren’t wearing a seatbelt. About a third of crashes involved fatigue.
- Take up new vehicle safety technologies whenever possible such as advanced braking, lane departure warning, electronic stability control, under-run protection and seatbelt reminders.
Tips for cars drivers:
- Remember, if you can’t see the truck driver’s face in their rear vision mirror, they can’t see you.
- Respect truck lanes and use them only if you’re driving a truck.
- Give plenty of space to heavy vehicles when turning if they are signed “Do Not Overtake Turning Vehicle”. They need more than one lane to turn.
Sharing the roads:
- While we all share the roads, cars and trucks are given priority on key routes.
- Public transport, pedestrians and cyclists having priority on local roads.
- This way, the interaction between trucks and the most vulnerable groups is reduced as much as possible.
