VTA urges motorists to share the road

The Victorian Transport Association has called for the state's motorists to exercise greater caution when driving in the vicinity of heavy vehicles

The Victorian Transport Association's CEO, Peter Anderson, has appeared on a major Victorian radio station with VicRoads Chief Executive, John Merritt, and Victoria's Acting Assistant Police Commissioner, Neville Taylor, to urge the state's motorists to consider their actions on the road when interacting with heavy vehicles.

The segment, which aired on 3AW's Neil Mitchell program on Tuesday, October 14, highlighted the importance of the road freight industry and the unique performance characteristics of heavy vehicles, underlining their unique needs to a predominantly metropolitan audience that lives in a city home to Australia's busiest port.

"As an industry body we expect truck drivers to be considerate of other road users and we urge the community to inform the relevant authorities if they witness unlawful behaviour," said Mr Anderson.

"However, we are seeing increased instances of poor decisions and risk taking from car drivers when mixing with trucks on the road. The feedback we are receiving from member companies is that drivers are concerned with how motorists are interacting with them on the road.

"Motorists need to understand that trucks need additional braking space, have a blind spot to the left and accelerate slowly from a standing start.

"In many instances drivers and the dash cams installed in many heavy vehicles are capturing motorists cutting too close in front of trucks when entering the road or changing lanes.

"With the freight task set to double by the year 2020, it is vital that all motorists are considerate of heavy vehicles and the vital role they play in society when interacting with them on the road."

VTA urges motorists to share the road

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