Sharing the Road Safely with Heavy Vehicles

Depending on whether you live in the country, city, or the suburbs, heavy vehicles can include:

• Rigid trucks

• Semi-trailer trucks

• Road trains

• Buses

• Grain transporters

• Livestock transporters

• Tanker trucks

• Cement trucks

• Tractors

Compared to other vehicles such as cars, heavy vehicles have some limitations, including longer braking distances, bigger turning circles, and larger blind spots.

The following guide provides an overview of how to reduce your risk of a crash and how to share the road safely with heavy vehicles.

Heavy vehicles can't slow down as quickly as other vehicles, and this means they have longer braking distances.

Generally, they need up to twice the distance it takes a car to stop. The faster the speed limit, the longer the safe stopping distance.

This is why truck drivers leave a safe distance between their heavy vehicle and the vehicle in front of them. That way they'll have enough time to react to an unexpected incident where they need to brake suddenly.  

Similarly, it’s important to leave a safe distance between trucks and other vehicles. This way, you can avoid placing yourself and them at risk if you change lanes.

As a driver, make sure you also travel at a safe stopping distance and allow enough time to stop safely based on the speed limit.

For example, if you're driving an average family car at 60km/h on a dry road, your reaction distance could be 20m, and your braking distance could be 45m, estimated respectively. [1]

This will change in weather such as wind, rain or fog, which can significantly reduce your level of visibility and the drivers around you.

In this case, if you're driving 60km/h on a wet road, your reaction distance could be 29m and it could take anywhere from an estimated 54m for you to stop safely. [1]

Trucks are wide and long vehicles, which means that they also have larger blind spots than cars.

These blind spots include the following areas:

• Immediately in front of the truck.

• Directly behind the truck.

• Beside the truck driver's door

• On the passenger side of the truck (up to three lanes)

If you can't see the driver, then the odds are that the driver can't see you. Therefore, you should always maintain visibility when driving near heavy vehicles so you can stay safe on the road.

Before you start overtaking trucks or other heavy vehicles, you should first assess your setting.

If you're on a motorway or highway use overtaking lanes and if you're on a single road, make sure the road ahead is clear before your vehicle passes a truck.

1. Check that it's safe to overtake the truck or heavy vehicle.

2. The driver in the overtaking vehicle should indicate and then overtake the truck, ensuring to keep within the speed limit.

Keep in mind you should never overtake a heavy vehicle when turning or travelling around a corner or on a hill because you won't be able to see far enough ahead.

Make sure the heavy-vehicle driver has seen you before re-entering the lane or merging in front of the truck.

Trucks have much bigger turning circles than cars do. This is why you should always leave extra space between your vehicle and a heavy vehicle before it turns. You can look for the truck's flashing indicator to get a better idea of when it's about to turn.

Trucks that have a "Do Not Overtake Turning Vehicle" sign can take up more than one lane when turning at corners, intersections, roundabouts and roads with a single dividing line.

Road trains can be up to ten cars in length and the trailers can sway as you pass them on the road.

If a road train is approaching on the oncoming side of the road, it’s recommended you safely:

• Slow down

• Pull onto the paved or unpaved area at the edge of the road.

• Move over to the paved or unpaved area and stop the car (if you need to)

Just like around other vehicles, make sure you always assess road conditions and settings before trying to overtake a road train.