The 10-point test all new truck drivers should have to pass

I have 10 questions and skill tests that will keep drivers and others alive that are not tick-a-box answers.

This is advice I have given to drivers I employed over the years based on my experience.

These also incorporate in some of the requirements drivers need to be schooled on before gaining a multi-combination heavy vehicle license and some should also apply to an HC.

1. What is the most important driver’s aid in the cab of a heavy vehicle that has the potential to save your life? How do you use it, and when, and where do you find it?

2. Drivers must be taught and able by using mental arithmetic without the aid of electronics within five seconds before committing to overtake another heavy vehicle. They must understand time, distances and speed.

• For example, a 26-metre B-double travelling at 100km/h overtaking a 36.5-metre road train at 90km/h will need approximately 2km and 2 minutes 20 seconds to complete the pass safely.
• How far can the overtaking driver see? Once a driver crosses the white line to commit the pass, he/she is liable for what happens next, and he can’t abrogate his responsibility to the other driver.

3. A test for people: If a 19-metre heavy vehicle at 100km/h is overtaking another 19-metre vehicle doing 97km/h, which is a common scenario, what time and distance does he/she need to pass safely?

• Unsafe passing kills many drivers each year including innocent drivers. Dashcams show us many examples of stupid habits some drivers have.

4. A learner should know what the four different types of fatigue are, and how to understand and respond to each of them. All of them can kill: driving stress fatigue, comfort fatigue, physical fatigue and start-back-from-time-away fatigue.

5. A driver of multi-trailer combination should never swerve or brake to avoid animals or objects on a highway, unless he/she is prepared for the reaction of the combination and using the driver’s aid in the cabin to counter the reaction of the vehicle in doing so.

• By using the in-cabin drivers aid as mentioned when a driver needs to respond to an emergency, a reaction should take .5 of a second with practice, every action or nonaction has the potential to have lifesaving result.

6. There is a driver’s aid in heavy vehicle that should not be used when driving in fog, wet weather, and most country roads. Mistakes kill – they need to be instructed why.

7. Driver should be instructed never to rely on statutory drivers’ aids built into trucks and to use their own common sense and override them when necessary.

8. Drivers need to be instructed to never rely solely on a tug test when hooking up trailers and be taught what else that needs to be done by them.

9. Drivers must be made to do their equipment checks and do their own coupling up of combinations before leaving depots, including checking that all fifth wheels are lubricated with grease or powder as required. Dry fifth wheels can kill, especially on B-doubles, so it’s in their own best interests. Mistakes kill.

• It’s a driver’s duty of care and they need to be instructed to protect trailers from catching fire and do regular trailer hub checks using hands or electronic temp gauges and to note temperatures of hubs when checking tyres, usually every 2-3 hours.

10. Drivers need to be instructed when not to use to webbing straps on particular freight and use dogs and chains, why canter lever dogs are better than wind up dogs on some freight, what load restraint equipment they should use on timber, steel, machinery ,and how to restrain loads of steel mesh,  webbing has limits, contrary to the restraint guides instructions

And if you fail a test, come back again.

• Veteran truckie Jerry Brown-Sarre was inducted into the Shell Rimula Wall of Fame at ReUnion 2005 and has more than 60 years’ experience in the road freight transport industry.