As we approach the Easter long weekend, it’s an important time to remind all road users to be patient, courteous and share the road so we can all make it safely to our destination.

Driving light vehicles like cars, utes or vans near heavy vehicles like trucks can be a stressful experience, especially on narrower roads, when moving at high speed or overtaking.

Consider the following tips to keep safe on our roads:

• Do not cut in front of heavy vehicles. They are much heavier than other vehicles and require greater distances to slow down and stop.
• Always maintain a safe following distance. Do not follow too closely as it obstructs your view of the road ahead.
• Be patient when travelling behind heavy vehicles. They are slower through hills and towns and take longer to reach the speed limit but often do not travel at the speed limit for safety reasons.
• Allow plenty of time when overtaking heavy vehicles. Make sure there is enough room between you and oncoming traffic. When it is safe to do so, use your indicators, accelerate and overtake as quickly as possible without exceeding the speed limit. Do not cut in front of the vehicle too closely when pulling back in and maintain your speed. Where possible, use overtaking lanes.
• Be aware of possible wind pressure when driving past heavy vehicles.
• Avoid blind spots. Heavy vehicles have multiple blind spots and if you cannot see the vehicle’s mirrors, then the driver cannot see you.
• Give them room to move. Heavy vehicles require extra space to manoeuvre, which may involve them moving into adjacent lanes. Do not overtake a heavy vehicle that is turning.
• Do not increase your speed when being passed by a heavy vehicle.
• Allow extra space when you are travelling towards a heavy vehicle with an oversize load as they will require more of the road to travel safely.
• At night, dip high beam lights when you see the cabin clearance lights as the windscreen of a heavy vehicle is higher than headlights and the driver will already be looking into your high beam lights.
• In wet weather heavy vehicles generate a lot of spray; this can obscure your view of what is ahead, so maintain extra distance and do not attempt to overtake if you cannot see.
• Pedestrians waiting to cross a road should allow extra room when near intersections where heavy vehicles are negotiating turns. Heavy vehicles are long and the centre of the vehicle can cut corners.

Click here for more information on sharing the road with heavy vehicles and here for a range of safe driving tips.

The SA Police Road Safety Centre is a leader in road safety education. To explore more about SA Police Road Safety Centre programs and resources visit SAPOL - Road safety.