03 heavy vehicle safety

8/12/2019 03 Heavy vehicle safety

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SHARING THE ROAD WITH HEAVY VEHICLES

You donthave to be told there are a lot of trucks on the road. But do

you always drive or ride with trucks in mind?

Trucks come in all shapes and sizes, and handle differently from cars.

This presentation gives you some points about travelling on the roads

with trucks

Heavy vehicles are large and slow and not very manouverable.

Overtaking these vehicles can be dangerous. The rear trailer can often

obstruct vision of the road ahead and can sway side to side over the

road. Other drivers may get impatient and overtake when they have no

view of the road ahead

Almost every product that you use, at some time was

carried on a truck!


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Fatal crashes involving heavy vehicles

Australia, 12 month rolling total -Ten years ended March 2008Each point shows the number of fatal crashes in the preceding 12 months
http://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_6/HEAVY%20VEHICLE%20CRASHES.pdfhttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_6/HEAVY%20VEHICLE%20CRASHES.pdfhttp://www.transportdrivertraining.com.au/index.html


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Fatal Crashes Involving Heavy Vehicles
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Stopping Distances

Trucks are bigger and heavier than cars

so they take longer to stop safely.


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Vehicle Speed Car(StoppingDistance )

Truck

(Stopping

Distance)

60km/h 73m 83m

70 km/h 91m 105m

80 km/h 111m 130m

90 km/h 133m 156m

100 km/h 157m 185m


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Dont cut in front of a truck as it is slowing down to stop

(for example at traffic lights) because you may not leave

enough room for it to pull up

Stopping Distances


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A blind spot is where you as a driver lose sight of the

vehicles around you

Know where a truck driversblind spots are:

- beside the trucksleft door

- directly behind the truck for quite a distance

- immediately in front of the truck

If you cannot see the truck driver in the trucks mirror,

then the truck driver cannot see you

Get clear of a truck driversblind spots as soon as youcan. Move to a position well in front of or behind the truck,

where the driver can see you

Blind Spots


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A truck driver has to rely solely on the rear vision mirrors to see to

the rear. The blind spot in these mirrors is greater than for cars.

Blind Spots


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Blind Spots


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Because trucks are bigger than cars, they take up more space

turning, so keep a safe distance away and give them room to move

Some trucks need extra space at corners, intersections and

roundabouts. If they are over 7.5 metres long they have DONOT

OVERTAKE TURNING VEHICLE signs, and may need two lanes to

make their turn

The DO NOT OVERTAKE TURNING VEHICLE SIGN fitted to the rear

of trucks and trailers allows the truck to legally turn from the

second or third lane from the kerb if needed to safely get around

the corner

Dont overtake on the inside of a turningtruck which displays these signs

Turning Trucks
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Trucks moving wide to make a turn is not an invitation for cars to

cut down the side of the truck, and if you move into this spaceinside the turning vehicle you may be in a blind spot often to the

left and rear of the truck cab

At smaller roundabouts a truck may require both lanes to get

through the roundabout. Leave space for the truck

Turning Trucks
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Avoid moving into the

highlighted areas when the

driver of a truck has indicated

an intention to turn

Turning Trucks


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Turning Trucks


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Slow down until you can see the driver in the truck mirrors.

This means the driver knows you are there

Keep your distance until it is safe to overtake

Avoid cutting in too closely in front of a truck after you pass

Wait until you see the whole of the truck in your rear vision

mirror, otherwise, the truck may not have room to stop

suddenly if the need arises

Overtaking Trucks


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If a car or 4WD vehicle approaches you carrying the "OVERSIZE LOAD

AHEAD" sign be prepared to move over, slow down and stop, since

following close behind will be a truck that is some combination of very

long, high, wide or heavy. The pilot vehicle escorting this over-size truck

may even flag you down and warn you to pull off the road as the truck

requires the whole road width

Trucks With An Oversize Load

Use caution when approaching vehicles with

these signs.
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If a truck has a LONGVEHICLE sign, it may be up to 26 metres long.

These vehicles will take longer to overtake and need a lot more space to

stop safely. Be sure you have a lot of space before you overtake. Thewhole of the front of the truck and a little space around it should be

visible in your rear vision mirror before you move back into the lane in

front of it.

Long Trucks

These vehicles take longer to overtake and

need more room to stop.
http://images.google.com.au/imgres?imgurl=http://www.signgallery.co.uk/images/277807.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.signgallery.co.uk/products1.cfm?CategoryID=20173&usg=__5TZz4RwDBM-Ilcd6TwkLBcuv49k=&h=166&w=346&sz=18&hl=en&start=19&um=1&tbnid=HKAvcIbqA3a3TM:&tbnh=58&tbnw=120&prev=/images?q=long+Vehicle&um=1&hl=enhttp://www.transportdrivertraining.com.au/index.html


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It takes about 25 seconds to overtake a large truck on the

open road. Thatsa long time if you are on the wrong side of

the road

Allow for the trucks increasing speed on the downhill run if

you overtake at or near a crest.

Be sure to leave the truck enough room when moving back in

front

Ease back on your speed when a truck is overtaking you

Always check the trucks indicators. If it is about to change

lanes or turn, wait for another opportunity

Long Trucks


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Many trucks are on the road to do pick-ups and deliveries and

need to enter or leave driveways, roads or loading docks. Be patientwhen trucks have to back into a spot. Most drivers do this skilfully

and as quickly as safety allows

Loading Zones and Truck Zones are provided for trucks to use

when making pick-ups and deliveries

Leaving these areas clear allows truck drivers to make their pick-

ups and deliveries safely, quickly and efficiently

Pick-ups and Deliveries


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Pick-ups and Deliveries

Remember: The blind spot for a truck increases when it is

turning.


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We all know that at times trucks can be slow. They can be slow off

the mark after a stop, slow when merging into traffic, and slowwhen going up hill

Give a truck driver a break on up-hill runs, where keeping up

momentum is important

Never cut in front of a truck and force the driver to slow down. It

can take five gear changes to regain the lost momentum

Give the truck driver space to overtake you if it will help the truckmaintain its speed

Trucks Can Be Slow


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Know where a truck driversblind spots are and dontstay in

them any longer than necessary

Trucks need more room to stop, so dontcut in front of them.

Trucks need a lot of space to turn, so give them plenty of

room

Keep away from the passenger side of left turning trucks.

Be patient, always follow at a safe distance and take extra careso as the truck driver seesyou

Remember


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03 heavy vehicle safety

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