Stepping Into the Drivers Seat of Safety: Insights from a Truck Driver!

The Importance of Road Safety Awareness Week

Road Safety Awareness Week in New Zealand aims to bring attention to the critical issue of road safety, encouraging individuals and communities to take collective responsibility for reducing accidents, injuries, and fatalities on the roads. This annual event plays a vital role in educating the public about safe driving habits, the consequences of reckless behaviour, and the importance of adhering to traffic rules and regulations.

By highlighting road safety throughout a designated week, communities have the opportunity to come together, share knowledge, and engage in discussions that promote safer roads for everyone. The ultimate goal is to instill a sense of personal responsibility in all road users, fostering a culture of vigilance, respect, and consideration.

4 Top Tips from Leon

We sat down with one of our skilled truck drivers – Leon, to learn his top tips for staying safe out on the roads. His wisdom and experience have been invaluable, so let’s buckle up and dive into their insights!

👉 Maintain a Safety-First Mindset: Always maintain a safe following distance as other drivers can be very unpredictable. Checking and double checking blind spots. Being patient and courteous to other road users.

👉 Prioritize Vehicle Maintenance: Every morning before driving I check the truck according to the NZTA pre-inspection checklist. Here is a link to the useful tool that includes smaller vehicles as well.

👉 Master the Art of Defensive Driving: Increase my following distance and turn lights on. Slow down especially before corners. It’s better to arrive later than not at all.

👉 Practice Patience and Courtesy: The biggest dangers and distraction I see on the roads are people on there cellphones. I’ve had allot of people almost hit me crossing center lines and I can see there looking down on there phones while driving. So I would say staying focused on driving has a massive impact on how you drive.

4 Top Tips from Caleb 

We caught up with Caleb, one of our truck drivers here at Pronto, to discuss his top road safety tips. Caleb shared some valuable insights that can make a real difference on our New Zealand roads.

🔵 Making sure you don’t drive more than the allowed time for truckies is very important, as fatigue can creep up on you. The best thing to do when driving long distances is to take short breaks whenever you feel a bit tired, or every 2 hours or so.
🔵 Reducing the number of accidents on our roads is one of the most important issues we face in NZ, I believe that stricter driver training and practical refreshers throughout a driver’s career would improve the quality of drivers on our roads.
🔵 To keep out of a truck’s blind spots, ensure you can see one of the wing mirrors as much as possible, and avoid travelling beside a truck at the same speed unless you can see the driver either through a side window or a mirror.
🔵 The most common mistakes I see around trucks, are vehicles pulling out from an intersection in front of a truck without accelerating up to speed quickly, and people being impatient with trucks reversing or maneuvering onto or off the road. Yes, we all have somewhere to go, but I have seen multiple near misses from vehicles crossing lanes to pass a stationary truck, which are important road users to keep the country moving.

Let’s implement these invaluable tips and make road safety a priority every day! Remember, it’s not just the responsibility of truck drivers but everyone on the road to contribute to a safer journey for all.