The Queensland Trucking Association (QTA) has established the QTA Safety Trailer Partnership Program which is a collaboration between organisations who proactively promote road safety messaging.
Launched in 2021, the QTA has formed partnerships with Transurban and the Motor Insurance Commission (MAIC) as part of the QTA Safety Trailer Program.
Supported by member fleets, the trailers sets currently on the road feature lively imagery that promote blind spot awareness and safe following distances between vehicles on the road. The shared commitment to safety and agreed investment in truck safety education is an important part of educating all motorists on our roads and a step in the right direction to improve road safety outcomes.
QTA chief executive officer Gary Mahon said, “It is of paramount importance that the workplace of a truck driver is as safe as possible. Their workplace is on our roads, and we want all motorists to be aware of how to interact with heavy vehicles that are delivering into our communities.”
Australia is fortunate to have several of the large truck manufacturers who understand the operating environment of our roads and continue to design innovative safety features to increase blind spot visibility. However, the stark reality is many motorists remain unaware of truck blind spots or the length of stopping distances they require.
Transurban were first to come on board with the sponsorship of a Followmont Transport B-double trailer set to raise awareness about truck blind spots. Road safety is a shared responsibility and with increased numbers of private vehicles returning to the roads alongside heavy freight transport, Transurban urge everyone to think about how to share the road safely, get to know truck blind spots and start a conversation about truck safety with colleagues, family and friends.
Through close analysis of in-vehicle data and roadway technologies, Transurban know that professional truck drivers regularly encounter other road users conducting quick lane changes or lingering in their blind spots without knowing the danger they are placing themselves and the truck driver in.
The MAIC sponsored trailer set is featured on a Lindsay Australia B-double with their striking ‘1 barramundi, 2 barramundi, 3 barramundi’ imagery which supports MAIC’s safety messaging campaign to increase public awareness of the dangers of tailgating. Encouraging all motorists to be more conscious of safe following distances, the imagery presents an easy way to do this is by counting out ‘1 barramundi, 2 barramundi, 3 barramundi’ which equates to about three seconds.
MAIC report that within the Queensland CTP scheme, approximately 50 per cent of all new claims for people injured as a result of road trauma are due to rear end crashes. Many of these crashes are largely preventable if motorists leave a safe following distance to the vehicle in front. This campaign has a couple of unique aspects in that the trailer will be viewed ‘in the moment’ by motorists across Queensland and will prompt them to assess their following distance.
This Road Safety Week, we encourage truck drivers to offer opportunities to the general public to climb into a truck cabin to increase their sense of awareness of truck blind spots and understand the importance of respecting the space heavy vehicles need around them to safely operate on our roads.