As the festive season fast approaches and road traffic intensifies, Unitrans is calling on all road users to prioritise safety this December, especially when sharing the road with trucks. Heavy vehicles are essential for keeping goods moving across the country during the busy holiday period, but understanding how to safely share the road with them is critical to preventing accidents and saving lives.
To support road safety efforts, Unitrans offers the following tips for passenger vehicle drivers when driving near trucks:
- Avoid blind spots: Trucks have large blind spots on the sides, rear and directly in front. If you can't see the truck driver in their mirrors, they can't see you.
- Give trucks space: Trucks need more room to manoeuvre and stop. Avoid cutting in front of them or following too closely.
- Pass safely: Always pass trucks on the correct side and ensure ample space before merging back into the lane.
- Be patient: Trucks may slow down in heavy traffic due to their size and weight. Stay calm, avoid aggressive driving and resist taking risky chances to overtake.
- Watch for signals: Consider a truck's indicators to anticipate the driver's intentions.
"At Unitrans, we place the utmost importance on ensuring that our fleet and drivers operate at the highest standards of safety and compliance," says Tracy van Helsdingen, head of central SHERQ at Unitrans. "Our drivers are trained to adhere to road safety regulations, including taking mandatory rest breaks, adhering to speed limits and performing pre-trip inspections to ensure brakes, tyres, lights and other critical components are in an optimal condition. They are equipped to plan ahead by understanding road, route and weather conditions, knowing emergency contacts, systems and ensuring emergency equipment like fire extinguishers are available," she says.
As a further contribution to road safety, Unitrans has made a donation to Trucking Wellness to help bus and truck drivers cope better with holiday traffic. "Drivers often face long hours behind the wheel and heightened stress, which can lead to fatigue, dehydration, musculoskeletal pain and other health challenges that impair reaction times and decision-making,” explains Tertius Wessels, project manager of Trucking Wellness which is an initiative of the NBCRFLI, which operates 20 permanent wellness centres, as well as mobile units on South Africa’s main trucking routes.
“Partnerships with logistics companies like Unitrans ensure that drivers receive pre-trip health screenings, education on managing stress and fatigue, and access to resources for staying healthy during high-demand periods,” says Wessels.
Unitrans prioritises the wellness of their drivers by ensuring they adhere to strict schedules that include mandatory breaks to avoid fatigue. They encourage their drivers to maintain a balanced diet and incorporate exercise, even on the road. Unitrans provide access to wellness programmes that help them to manage their job's physical and mental demands.
"Safety is everyone's responsibility on the road," says van Helsdingen. "By working together and respecting road safety rules, we can ensure that everyone arrives at their destination safely this festive season. At Unitrans, we are deeply committed to safeguarding our drivers and all road users."
