Caravans crowd truck rest areas
As many as a quarter of caravanners use overnight rest areas primarily reserved for truckiesA new government-funded campaign has been launched to help reduce the number of caravanners taking up spaces in overnight roadside rest areas primarily reserved for long haul truck drivers.
“I urge caravaners to take advantage of the great facilities at camping grounds and caravan parks and give truck drivers the space to stop at roadside rest areas to ensure they have their proper break.” said the Assistant Federal Minister for Road Safety and Freight Transport Scott Buchholz, who also urged caravanners to get educated on truck-related issues at the new Co-Exist website.
The Co-Exist campaign is also supported by the Caravan Industry Association of Australia, which released results of a recent study showing a quarter of caravan and RV users have stayed overnight in truck rest areas.
The CIAA’s research of 554 caravaners or RV drivers who had used a rest stop in the past 12 months showed that 60 per cent had used a rest top more than once; more than three-quarters made the decision to use a rest stop when their trip was underway; and more than a quarter spent more than nine hours at the rest stop.
The Co-Exist campaign is the latest road safety initiative designed to ease on-road tensions between truckies and caravanners on increasingly crowded highways.
CIAA CEO Stuart Lamont said all road users had equal responsibility for road safety.
“Caravan and RV users value safety so this information will help them to understand how to share the road with heavy vehicles, particularly in understanding how such a large vehicle behaves,” Lamont said.
“Our campaign promotes simple information that can reduce frustration, such as the use of UHFs for improved communication between drivers, maintaining speed and road position when being overtaken.
“When stopping for the night make sure you’re aware that truck drivers may need to use the dedicated stops to manage their fatigue hours, so plan your stops and use the appropriate areas to park and not use designated truck parking.”
The Co-Exist website also includes a number of educational videos, produced in conjunction with the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) and starring long-time truckie and outspoken road safety advocate, Rod Hannifey.
Also read: Don't squeeze truckies out!
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