WITH harvest almost here, motorists should be ready for increased heavy freight traffic on roads.
This not only means more trucks, but also large self-propelled vehicles or towed farm machinery.
Be alert and don’t assume that since there is usually no traffic that there will be none today. Expect more heavy traffic on roads that normally have little traffic.
And be prepared for some of these extra vehicle movements to be at dawn, dusk or night time.
Trucks, Utes and farm machinery will be on the roads, crossing roads and exiting in unusual places.
Many of these will be oversize vehicles, and they will need some or even all of your side of the road.
Give them room to pass safely.
Don’t travel in the left lane just near the truck cabin, this is usually the worst spot for the truck driver’s vision and in wet weather this can be even worse.
If you are travelling next to a truck and the indicator comes on, don’t just stay there, move either forward or backwards out of the contact area.
The truck driver is giving you a warning he is about to make a position change and if you are in the blind spot and have not moved into his vision, it could be easy for him to think there is no traffic in the danger area.
If a truck has slowed and pulled over to the left, indicating right, don’t assume he is letting you through.
He is most likely turning right. Be sure to give a truck room to make a turn. At some intersections a truck requires more than one lane to make the turn.
When a car approaches an intersection and pulls up to the road markings (holding line) where a truck is waiting to make a turn, there is no room for the truck to turn and he will have to wait for the car to clear before proceeding
Dry conditions in summer mean dust on country roads that will affect your vision of tail lights if you are following a truck, and the dust will also prevent you from seeing oncoming traffic should you choose to pass a truck.
Don’t overtake if you cannot see ahead through dust.
Overtaking is one of the most dangerous manoeuvres in driving at the best of times, but to overtake a truck that is doing 100km/h you will need to be able to see that the road is clear for at least a kilometre ahead.
Remember that it is illegal to break the posted speed limit, even when overtaking.
Be patient and choose a safe place to overtake, allowing for the speed of the truck.
It is common to see motorists overtaking on double white lines and hooking back in quickly, just in front of the roo bar of the truck.
At 100km/h this is not a safe place to be.
Trucks are limited to 100km/h, but remember when travelling downhill they are likely to exceed this speed.
Trucks on our roads over the harvest period may be 27.5-36.5 metres in length, and usually weigh between 80-90 tonnes loaded.
This is more than 45 times the weight of a car and between six and 10 times the length.
It might take a truck 150 metres to “crash-stop” so don’t be in their way.
Motorists should always pay special attention to trucks, not because they are dangerous in their action, but because of their size they are not as reactive to sudden changes in direction or speed as a smaller vehicle.
This obviously means if you get in their way the driver may not be able to stop or avoid you.
