28 March 2014

Truck drivers welcome education stop

A ‘truckie education stop’ held on SH1 north of Huntly last week received positive feedback from its target audience.

Over 50 drivers stopped on route were offered a breakfast of hot drinks and food and were then given an opportunity to up-skill on road safety specific to truck driving.

Waikato district Road Safety Co-ordinator Megan Jolly said the drivers appreciated the stops and the chance to refresh their knowledge particularly in an environment focused on education, rather than enforcement.

“Our key focus of the stops was on speed management and we placed an emphasis on reducing speed on corners, as well as highlighting the importance for truck drivers to travel 10km below speeds posted on speed advisory signage.”

Many of the truck drivers surveyed also highlighted ‘other motorists’ as posing the greatest road safety risk for their industry. “They talked about the large numbers of motorists passing trucks at inappropriate spots such as double yellow lines or at the very end of a passing lane forcing them to cut back in too close to the trucks.”

The joint initiative was collaboration between Waikato Police, Waikato District Council, NZTA, the Road Transport Association NZ, National Road Carriers and Wintec who joined the truck for the first time. Their crew provided 3rd year nursing students offering free health checks for drivers with a focus on ‘Heart Health’ with blood pressure and heart rate checks offered.

Acting Sergeant Dave Steffert was particularly pleased with the success of the stop noting the willingness for truck drivers to stop. “Many had stopped in previous years and wanted to stop again as they found them very beneficial”.

However he says of concern was that nearly half of the drivers surveyed at the stops said they didn’t receive road safety training from their employer in the last 12 months.

© Scoop Media