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November 2015
 

 


Truckie Rod Hannifey ... striving to make our roads safer for everyone

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.

Mr Hannifey: little chance

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'


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.

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