The transport industry plays an important role in the
strategic and economic
development of our huge country,
so
road trains and large trucks are a necessary fact
of life on our highways. , I
would like to pass on a few pointers that might be helpful
when you are confronted
by one of these monsters.
A double road train is around 35 metres long and weighs nearly
80 tonnes while a triple road train weighs
up to 115 tonnes and is about 53 metres
in length,
so they do deserve our respect.
There are several things to consider when overtaking or
being overtaken by a large rig. These include:
Stopping times A heavy truck takes longer
to pull up than lighter and smaller vehicles.
Rear vision The driver of a heavy vehicle may not be able
to see you in his mirrors if you are travelling too
close behind. If you can't see his mirrors, he certainly can't see you.
Passing times Overtaking or
being overtaken can take considerable time so you need to be
able to see at least three kilometres ahead before
attempting to pass. If it's dusty and visibility is impaired, don't
even think about passing.
While most drivers of these big rigs are professional, there are
still a few cowboys around so you must
make judgements based on common
sense and, most importantly, safety. If you
are at all nervous about the situation, pull over, make a
cup of tea and proceed when the road is clear.
One of the most common reactions of drivers when they see
a truck coming up behind them is to prop or reduce speed and, in
some cases, drop their left hand wheels off the side of
the road. This has the effect of causing the truck driver
to reduce speed, thus making it difficult for him
to gather the momentum needed to safely overtake.
The best thing you can do is to maintain your road speed
until the road train or truck is alongside then slow
down and, if safe, ease to the left. If you want to
pull over before the truck passes, try to get right off the road.
A UHF radio is always helpful in these situations as the
truck driver can tell you when he wants to pass or if it's safe
for you to pass him
.
When confronted by a large,
overwidth load, follow the instructions of
the escort vehicles. They may sometimes ask you to pass
via the right hand verge, but if you find this a bit scar just hold
back and wait a while perhaps until the convoy
stops for tyre checks, which they normally do
every 100 kilometres or so.
When it's all boiled down, there's one unchangeable
rule that you should follow when sharing the
highways and byways with road trains and other
heavy vehicles always err on the side of safety!
