Stay Safe Around Trucks on the Road this Festive Season

The holiday season is just around the corner which means many motorists will be getting behind the wheel to visit friends or family in faraway places. Here are a few tips provided by truck drivers to consider when sharing the roads with the 18-wheeled behemoths.

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It’s the festive season! Naturally, the roads are busier than usual and motorists want to reach their holiday destinations as fast and safely as possible. But there are a number of dos and don’ts when sharing the roads with trucks.

“Truck drivers tend to have a bad reputation, and unfairly so. Many are some of the most experienced drivers on the road if you consider the number of kilometres travelled in their career, to the number of accidents,” points out Ryan Gaines, CEO of City Logistics, a leading privately-owned logistics company in South Africa.

Here truck drivers share some guidelines they implore road users to consider when travelling this festive season.

According to drivers atCity Logistics, it’s vitally important to keep a safe distance from trucks – because they carry extremely heavy loads and they’re unable to come to a complete halt immediately. Due to the size and weight of these trucks, it takes at least 200 to 300 metres – or approximately 60 seconds – for trucks to come to a complete stop.

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Motorists should always remember to stay in sight. There’s a simple rule: if a motorist is travelling behind a truck and he cannot see the truck’s mirrors or cameras (which replace mirrors on many modern trucks), the truck driver cannot see that motorist. It’s most important not to follow directly behind the truck, as the motorist becomes invisible – because he/she is effectively in a blind spot.

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Motorists should also never pull in front of a truck and then slam on the brakes, especially when travelling downhill. There is a possibility that the load being drawn cannot be stopped by the brakes, as the momentum of the weight presses the trailer – and its load – forward. This is especially dangerous for trucks that are carrying liquid. Sharp braking