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Truckie Rod Hannifey ...
striving to make our roads safer for everyone |
TRUCKIE'S OVERTAKING
DILEMMA
AWARD-winning road transport and
safety advocate Rod Hannifey has travelled well over five million
kilometres at the wheel of B-doubles. He has written for several
high-profile magazines and contributed to road safety inquiries. He is a
regular guest on ABC and commercial radio stations and is passionate about
making our roads safer. The holder of an Australian Trucking Association
National Professional Driver of the Year award, Rod is astonished at the
antics of some drivers, including caravanners. Here he relates a recent
episode with a caravanner while travelling from Warwick towards
Goondiwindi in Queensland which left him shaking his head.
Have your say
I WAS loaded to about 60 tonnes in a
26-metre B-double which is speed-limited to 95kph for fuel savings and for
company policy.
I slowly caught up to a vehicle towing a caravan.
I could not see any UHF aerial and there were no signs on the back of the
'van nominating a channel, but I did try and call on both Channel 18 and
Channel 40 before I attempted to overtake, as I believe it is best to make
contact first.
This is one of the reasons why I suggest any sign for Channel 18 or 40 be
at least 200mm high, so it can be read well before the truck is too close.
If I can read the sign well before I am about to overtake, then we can
communicate and agree on a plan well before it starts.
If I cannot read the sign until I am about to overtake, then there is
little chance to make contact.
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Mr Hannifey: little chance |
When I caught up, I followed for some time, noting the driver was not very
consistent with their speed.
When an overtaking opportunity arose, I flashed my high beam to ensure the
'vanner knew I was there and that I was intending to pass.
The 'vanner then proceeded to accelerate to about 98kph, a speed where I
could not overtake, so I pulled in behind, losing momentum.
Within a few minutes, I was back on the tail, with the 'vanner now having
slowed to about 90 or less.
I waited for my next overtaking chance and again flashed and pulled out,
only to have the same thing happen ... the 'vanner sped up.
No I am not perfect ‒ no one is ‒ and we all deserve a second chance.
If the 'vanner maintained one speed, I could deal with that knowing how
much room I need to overtake.
But if the 'vanner seemingly deliberately speeds up only when I have a
chance to overtake, then they are either playing games or being an idiot,
possibly both.
We do not want to get so close when you slow down and we do not want to be
stuck behind you for hours.
Neither is good for anyone.
Now approaching Goondiwindi and knowing there were no long lengths of road
left where I would have any chance to pass, I sat back a bit, only to
again have the caravan slow down.
I had to slow even more, sometimes to under 80kph.
On reaching the BP at Goondiwindi, the 'van pulled in and I followed,
parked up and walked over to it.
The lady driver was fuelling and I waited for her to acknowledge me.
'She looked
annoyed and
said she was
not playing'
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I said: "Hello, I am the truckie you were playing with."
She looked a bit annoyed and said she wasn't playing with a truck.
I said: "I tried twice to overtake you and each time you sped up and then
slowed down so I couldn't pass."
"I didn’t see you," was the reply.
I noticed a UHF aerial and she said she had a radio but turned it off
because of the bad language.
I told her that I understand and that is why Channel 18 was first proposed
for 'vanners.
I commented that I have a lightbar that would be hard to miss when flashed
and it had happened twice.
Now she said: "I saw you once and I wasn't playing with you."
"So why did you speed up when I tried to overtake?"
"I didn’t," was the reply.
I then explained I was at 60 tonnes and simply could not accelerate like a
car and she had made it impossible for me to pass.
She then said she had been run off the road by a truck.
I replied: "I am sorry, but I think I know why, based on the way you
drive."
I apologised for the other truckie, trying to explain that what she had
done to me had certainly made me frustrated.
I was in a shirt with a prominent company logo and my full name written
clearly on it, so in no way was I rude or angry.
All this time her husband was fuelling the car and said nothing.
I suggested she try and have some more understanding of how her driving
was an issue with trucks, wished her a safe trip and headed for the
toilet.
On coming back out of the toilet, the husband was in the food queue and I
approached him and offered him my card, asking him to have a look at
my website and
particularly, the Caravan Survey, so they might be safer on the road in
the future.
Now this lady may truly have had no idea that she was changing speed all
the time, and she obviously had no idea about trucks at all.
There are bad truckies and there are bad 'vanners.
From the start of my involvement with caravanners, I have had one aim ...
to make the roads safer for truckies, 'vanners and everyone else using
them.
If you have never driven a truck, or had no knowledge of trucks, I would
hope you would have some empathy for those of us who live on the road, for
our livelihood and our work.
We are not on holidays, living the life of a free and easy traveller with
no pressure and the ability to take our time, as many 'vanners can.
We are monitored, policed and badly treated by the press for doing the job
that supplies you with your food, fuel and clothes and every other thing
you use or buy.
It has been said that the only thing trucks don't deliver is babies.
Many of the things you use in your life have been a truck, possibly many
times.
All we ask is a little bit of a fair go on the road and in our parking
bays.
Recently there has been another push for licences for caravans and fifth
wheelers, which are an articulated vehicle with some getting to the size
of a small semi-trailer.
Currently you can drive your small car for 40 years without even going out
of town and tomorrow buy 2 tonne-plus 4WD, hook an even bigger caravan on
the back and away you go across Australia.
I have promoted the Caravan Survey and Caravan Channel 18 for many years
and some clubs have been supportive and even made their own stickers for
'vans.
But for your safety and mine and with reference to the story above, how do
we get to the new 'vanner?
I would welcome your comments
and feedback.