Trucks are a common feature on our roads and it’s important our children understand that they’re much bigger and heavier than cars with far less room to stop and avoid children.
The information has been put into a curriculum resource for teachers, which is available from the Transport Agency’s education portal. It is aimed at children from primary school through to early secondary school.
The Transport Agency’s Freight Strategy Manager Marinus La Rooij says trucks are crucial to the New Zealand economy, but we need to be more aware of some of the safety risks of being around trucks on the road and how to keep ourselves safe.
“Around two thirds of crashes involving trucks and another vehicle are caused by a mistake by someone not in the truck.
So there is a big opportunity to give people a better idea of what the safety risks are and how to keep themselves safe around trucks,” Marinus says.
Some of the key points of safety around trucks programme include:
- While you can see the truck – the truck driver may not see you
- While you think you might have time to get across the road – the truck is actually travelling faster than you think.
- Trucks are much bigger and heavier than cars, so give them extra space on the road.