As the school holidays approach, the NHVR is issuing important safety reminders to new and still learning young drivers about driving safely around trucks.
The regulator has identified that just 39 per cent of young people surveyed recalled having a question about driving trucks on their learner test, and 31 per cent didn’t know you should keep one lane free either side of a truck when it is turning.
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This came from a survey questioning 1167 young drivers over the past six months. It also revealed that almost half had not any instructions on how to drive safely around trucks by their parents, guardians or driving instructors.
“Alarmingly, we see young drivers are vastly overrepresented when it comes to crashes involving heavy vehicles – a scenario no one wants to see,” says NHVR executive director of corporate affairs Michelle Tayler.
“It’s why the NHVR is constantly exploring new ways of engaging with young drivers – evident through the launch of our highly-successful Being Dead is Boring campaign.
“Our goal is to prevent situations where an inexperienced driver could be in a lane next to a turning truck, they pull in front of a truck too soon or they linger in a truck’s blind spot.
“With the very busy April school holiday and Easter period approaching, we want to urgently remind all drivers to ensure they understand how to safely navigate around heavy vehicles – it could save your life.”
To combat this, the NHVR is issuing critical safety reminders regarding navigating a truck’s blind spots, not passing turning trucks, and leaving enough space when overtaking.
In an effort to spread these crucial safety messages, the NHVR will this week hold an interactive activation at Westfield’s Chermside shopping centre, where drivers can test their road and truck knowledge via a specially created video arcade game.
The NHVR’s Being Dead is Boring campaign has reached more than 15 million online impressions by putting a road safety spin on some of the most popular Tik Tok trends to get young people thinking about truck safety.
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