A new safety campaign launched by National Highways aims to raise awareness of the 'blind spots' around heavy goods vehicles. It comes after a survey commissioned by the organisation found that while nearly three-quarters of people said they take extra care when overtaking a lorry, 36% said they didn't know how many blind spots a HGV had - with the same number admitting feeling nervous when passing trucks.
A campaign video, supported by the Road Haulage Association, Logistics UK and other HGV bodies, urges drivers to 'know the zones' where HGV drivers have limited visibility. There are four of these - at the front, rear and each side of a HGV.
Drivers are also encouraged to pass quickly and safely. Where possible, motorists should not linger next to a truck.
Lorries now have extra mirrors as standard. This has improved driver visibility, but not completely eliminated blind spots.
Jeremy Phillips, head of road safety at National Highways, said: “Safety is our number one priority, and we all have a role to play in keeping each other safe when driving. Our advice to motorists overtaking a HGV is simple; avoid tailgating the HGV when considering an overtaking manoeuvre and as the Highway Code states, do so quickly and safely to avoid staying in an area of limited visibility.”
Shannan Paterson has run the HGV Training Midlands school, based in Willenhall in the West Midlands, since she was 21. She was featured in the BBC documentary Queen of Trucks and is backing the campaign.
The 28-year-old said: “Driving a lorry is very different to driving a car. You can’t see anything behind you other than the trailer. Your only vision is in front of you and in the side mirrors.
“You don’t know if someone is immediately behind you, and they can’t see what is ahead of your HGV or if you are going to have to brake sharply for any reason. While if someone pulls in front of a HGV without leaving enough room, the lorry driver might not be able to see them at all in the blind spot below the cab and therefore won’t be able to judge their stopping distance properly.
“I fully support National Highways’ campaign and would encourage drivers to give HGVs space. You have to go through a lot of training to legally drive a lorry but even professional drivers can’t know that someone is in one of their blind spots.”
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Tom Cornwell, Road Haulage Association policy lead, said: “At RHA, we believe road safety is key. The roads are the workplace of our industry and we want commercial vehicle operators and all road users to be as safe as possible.
“We were pleased that National Highways reached out to us to input into this campaign which will raise awareness of limited areas of visibility with large vehicles and will educate other drivers.”
Chris Yarsley, senior policy manager for road freight regulation at Logistics UK, said: “The safety of our members, and all other road users, is of paramount importance to Logistics UK and this new campaign is an ideal opportunity to raise awareness of the hazards when interacting with HGVs on England’s motorway and major A-road network.
“We welcome safety initiatives like this because it will encourage motorists to think about overtaking lorries safely without lingering in zones of limited visibility.”
Road safety minister Richard Holden said: “We have some of the safest roads in the world, but we are not complacent and are always looking at ways to make them safer. Making motorists aware of HGV blind spots will help prevent road collisions and support our ambitions of building a safer road network.”
The National Highways campaign will be aired on radio, featured on TV on demand, online video, social media, billboards and posters.
