The Australian Trucking Association’s (ATA) travelling truck safety and industry exhibition, The Road Ahead, will open its doors at the Nowra (NSW) show on February 10 and 11 this year.
The Road Ahead is a semi-trailer filled with displays informing viewers about the trucking industry including industry careers and, most importantly, how to drive safely around trucks. More than 65,000 people have visited the exhibition since it was launched in 2008, with plenty more expected over the course of the Nowra show.
A regular visitor to schools across Australia, The Road Ahead exhibition aims to improve road safety around trucks through education.
According to the chief executive of the ATA, Stuart St Clair, “In most incidents involving trucks and cars the car driver is at fault, often because they are unaware of the disparity in vehicle dynamics such as braking and handling between the different sized vehicles. Through The Road Ahead program, we aim to teach everyone how to drive safely around heavy vehicles.”
One such important tip is that the ‘DO NOT OVERTAKE TURNING VEHICLE’ sign applies at roundabouts too, as trucks will often need to use both lanes of a roadway when negotiating smaller roundabouts.
“We have a local community that would benefit from the education provided by The Road Ahead,” said James Thomson, president of the Nowra Show. “With heavy vehicle traffic on local roads set to increase with the upgrading of the Manildra ethanol plant, it becomes increasingly important that our young and inexperienced drivers in particular can receive information on how to coexist safely on the roads with heavy vehicles.”
To find out more about The Road Ahead, visit www.roadahead.net.au.