GIVING YOUNG DRIVERS THE KEY TO SAFELY SHARE THE ROAD
The Liberal and Nationals’ Government is determined to reduce the number of crashes involving heavy vehicles and will invest in the Australian Trucking Association (ATA)’s Safety Truck to educate young people across the country to safely share the road, Deputy Prime Minister and Nationals’ Leader Michael McCormack says.
Mr McCormack announced the Government’s $400,000 investment towards the ATA’s Safety Truck’s upgrade alongside CEO Ben Maguire today.
“No matter where you live, the Liberals and Nationals want to make sure you get home sooner and safer,” Mr McCormack said.
“That’s why we are partnering with the ATA to help raise public awareness about road safety issues when people are sharing the road with large trucks, as well as our record investment in new and safer roads around the nation.”
Mr McCormack said the Safety Truck travels an average of 60,000 kilometres a year around Australia to engage with tens of thousands of people at trucking industry events, careers expos, high schools and tertiary institutions.
“The Safety Truck plays a crucial role in helping to reduce the number of deaths and serious injuries caused every year in crashes involving trucks,” Mr McCormack said.
“We know most accidents are due to the failure of other drivers to fully understand the special precautions needed when in the vicinity of large freight vehicles, especially on country and regional roads.
“The new Safety Truck delivers an engaging hands-on experience designed to educate 16 to 25-year-olds about the dangers of driving irresponsibly around large trucks. It will put them in a virtual driver’s seat to experience the challenges truck drivers face every working day dealing with a range of road and traffic conditions.
“That experience – combined with the truck’s road safety exhibition – will increase visitors’ understanding of trucks’ significant blind spots, large turning circles in some situations and the time and length it takes to slow down and stop compared to smaller vehicles.
“This is just another investment the Liberals and Nationals are making in practical road safety measures to make real changes in communities around the nation.”
The $400,000 being provided by the Government would be used to help cover the refit costs, including a revamp of the truck’s livery and the development of its video and virtual reality capabilities.
The upgrade of the ATA Safety Truck supports the efforts by the Australian Government through the National Road Safety Action Plan 2018-2020 to reduce the number of crashes involving heavy vehicles.
To find out more about the Volvo ATA Safety Truck go to: www.truck.net.au/safetytruck.
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