A Letter to the Trucking Company

In June 2007, this letter was sent to 100’s of trucking companies across the three eastern states  ………. 

A Letter to the Trucking Company Manager/Owner Operator

You may be aware of recent media exposure highlighting dangerous driving practices by SOME truck drivers – particularly tailgating and speeding. This dangerous behavior is of particular concern to NSW North Coast residents who have had enough of being intimidated by aggressive heavy vehicle drivers, tailgating and driving recklessly on single lane sections of the Pacific highway as they travel through our communities.

As a result, a new initiative has been launched in an effort to have this heavy vehicle “king of the road” culture exposed, examined and ultimately eradicated – the primary objective being to reduce road trauma and fatalities on our North Coast.

A recent road safety forum I attended in Melbourne, highlighted conflicting views of heavy vehicle drivers. Footage showing a semi-trailer bulldozing a car trapped sideways against its grill down a freeway resulted in all participating drivers agreeing that that particular driver could not see the car – that being the reason he did not stop. Later in the forum, all semi drivers agreed that – from their high vantage point – they could see everything and therefore were able to react to any unforeseen incidents in their path. N.R.M.A President Alan Evans then suggested they get their story straight ……….

Either they COULD see everything or they COULDN’T!

In the interests of maximizing the safety of all who live on and all who visit our north coast region and use the Pacific Highway, we at COAST TO COAST 100 have chosen to accept semi driver assertions that they in fact CANNOT see directly in front of them which then becomes a critical issue when one of them decides to tailgate a car in an effort to push the driver into speeding up or pulling over to let them through.

According to the RTA website, the process of recognizing danger takes .75 seconds. Reaction time to that danger is also .75 seconds. With 1.5 seconds already used before evasive action commences, a tailgating semi traveling at 100km per hour simply has nowhere to go except over the top of the vehicle it is tailgating in the event of unforeseen circumstances occurring on the road in front of that vehicle.

Often motorists do not have the luxury of being able to take alternate routes to avoid heavy vehicles. They must get out there amongst the trucks and use the Pacific highway as their main thoroughfare between north coast towns.

As we roll out this road safety initiative on the NSW North Coast, semi drivers will begin to report the appearance of labels across rear car windscreens as seen below. When a truck driver sees a vehicle displaying one of these stickers, he/she can assume the motorist is participating in this safer roads initiative.

Currently, the only reporting option motorists have is to Police however, this is set to change as motorists are offered an alternate reporting mechanism through the Coast to Coast 100 website – on the “Report a Truckie” page. It is anticipated that profiles of serial offenders should begin to emerge quite quickly.

Coast to Coast staff will liaise with trucking companies involved to allow management to address the problem in-house. If no satisfactory outcome is achieved, details will be released to Police and the media. Motorists are also provided with a list of do’s and don’ts in the event of a tailgating incident …..

What to do if you are tailgated/menaced by a heavy vehicle…

• DO NOT PANIC. Stay within the speed limit. Stay aware of other traffic.
• DO NOT INCREASE YOUR SPEED over the limit in an effort to “lose” the offending truck. The object of tailgating is to create a sense of urgency or panic – to make the driver in front speed up. This increases the likelihood of a high speed crash and places you at risk of attracting fines. The maximum speed limit for trucks in Australia is 100kms p/h
• NEVER RECIPROCATE dangerous driving behavior
• Remaining buckled up HAVE A PASSENGER PHOTOGRAPH THE OFFENDING TRUCK using a mobile phone or camera ensuring the registration number is centered clearly in the photograph.
• NOTE ANY COMPANY INSIGNIAS or identifying signage emblazoned across the truck or trailer
• CONTACT POLICE. Pull over when it is safe to do so and to report the incident to Police or contact the trucking company to advise management of the incident.
• ALWAYS REQUEST AN EVENT NUMBER when you report the incident to the Police. This will ensure your report IS recorded which in turn will ensure statistics reflect a true and accurate picture of the extent of the problem. Politicians and bureaucrats respond to statistics. These Police reports will then become evidence in any subsequent court trials.
• CONTACT THE COAST TO COAST 100 WEBSITE. Go to the “Report a Truckie” tab and report your incident including registration number, company insignia, time, date, place, details etc. Over a period of time, profiles on serial offenders will begin to emerge. Coast to Coast staff will liaise with the trucking company involved however, if no satisfactory outcome is achieved, details will be released to the police and the media.

Managers… at this point we would ask you to remind your drivers

1. To be mindful of minimum distance requirements between themselves and cars in front
2. To leave sufficient room between semis to allow motorists to overtake
3. That nowhere in the rule book is 2m mentioned as a legal gap between ANY vehicle
4. To remember that the speed limit on the Pacific Highway is 100kms per hour
5. To remember that this is not JUST the Pacific Highway. It is also our local road, essential for daily commuting between north coast communities.

It was encouraging to learn that a large trucking company recently sent a letter of apology to a north coast resident who was the victim of a serious tailgating incident in May apologizing for the driver’s behavior – giving her an undertaking that he would be put through additional driver training.

Local Police also report truck drivers reporting their colleagues for dangerous driving practices. Being responsible members of the transport industry, we know that your organization will also be quick to distance yourself from these cowboys who have poor anger management skills, a need for speed and a blatant disregard for the safety of others.

It is this minority of truckies whose driving style involves deliberate acts of aggression that that this campaign seeks to address - as they present the greatest risk to other road users

Motorists have also been asked to closely examine their own driving behavior in relation to sharing the road with heavy vehicles …….

My driving practices …..

• Do I pull out in front of semi trailers?
• Do I maintain the speed limit if driving conditions permit?
• Do I drive in the mistaken belief that semi trailers are slow vehicles?
• Am I mindful of the fact that semi drivers run to tight delivery schedules?
• Do I overtake semi trailers then slow down in front of them delaying their progress?
• Am I aware that semi trailers and cars cannot go around smaller two lane roundabouts together?
• Do I drive well below the speed limit blocking semi trailers then speed up in overtaking lanes?

Residents concede that car drivers do make mistakes however it is the truck drivers who are the professional drivers. Their trucks and the roads they travel are their workplace. It must be remembered that all truck drivers drive cars but obviously all car drivers don’t drive trucks and so cannot be expected to understand the logistics involved in driving a heavy vehicle.

According to the RTA’s heavy vehicle handbook, individuals who have a heavy vehicle license have entered into a contract between themselves and the community giving an undertaking to adhere to road rules and to observe safe driving practices. Being licensed to drive a 65 tonne vehicle capable of high speed places a high level of duty of care on those who sit behind the wheel.

We at CO.A.S.T to CO.A.S.T 100 ask that you make your drivers aware of this road safety campaign and the fact that right across the north coast of NSW, drivers are set to take mass action reporting dangerous, intimidating driving behavior to both Police and the Coast to Coast 100 website - all in the interest of reducing road trauma and fatalities across our area.

I must be noted that the object of this initiative is to save lives rather than to initiate a national “get a truckie” campaign. North Coast residents recognize the efforts of professional law-abiding drivers and ask that these men and women work with our north coast communities in policing the “cowboys” in your industry. Unfortunately their reputations are being tarnished by the behaviour of a few bad operators who continue to thumb their nose at the law and community safety.

Given that anticipated Federal and State funding injections will take years to materialize into dual carriageway highway, at this point in time we must focus on driver re-education, changing driver behavior, increasing driver awareness and ensuring that ALL road users (observing road rules and prevailing driving conditions) work together to assist truckies through our north coast region with the least possible resistance.

As we roll out this David and Goliath campaign, heavy vehicle drivers can expect a united voice along the northern end of the Pacific highway as motorists report dangerous driving practices to both Police and theCO.A.S.T to CO.A.S.T 100 website - a strategy that will continue until this prevailing culture of intimidation is eradicated. We look forward to your support.

Yours in road safety,
Lyndal Denny
Spokesperson

COAST TO COAST 100