As a leading haulage provider, it goes without saying that at Dyce Carriers, we take road safety extremely seriously. As our drivers carry loads of up to 44-tons the length and breadth of this country every day, the safety of our staff, cargo and equipment is firmly at the front of our minds.
The department of transportation has recently published their ‘Road Safety Statement’ for 2019 in which they evaluate what is being done to help prevent tragic accidents on the road. Despite the UK having the third lowest number of fatalities on the road out of every country in Europe, coming behind Norway and Sweden, there is naturally, still more to be done to prevent these horrific events from occurring.
The statement sets out a 74-point plan on how road safety can be improved even further, and we’ve written up a handy guide as to how these proposed changes could affect the day to day life’s our truckers and haulage professionals.
The report
Broadly speaking the report aims at four types of motorists, Young Road Users, Rural Road Users, Motorcyclists, and Older Vulnerable Road Users. Whilst none of the changes directly affect truck drivers, that does not mean that the proposed changes won’t indirectly affect them, hopefully making life on the road safer.
Proposed changes include greater penalties for those caught not wearing their seatbelt, as well as increased usage of photo capable devices such as dashcams to catch people who are driving recklessly. This could contribute to a safer road environment for everyone, including HGV drivers.
The bottom line for truckers
The report has a whole section dedicated to the safety of people who drive for a living, within it is a section of guidelines concerning how the safety of HGV drivers can be promoted. Of particular concern in the statement is to ensure that all trucks are fitted with sideguards, that can work to deflect vulnerable road users, such as cyclists, who get to close to the vehicle. At Dyce Carriers we always make sure our vehicles are up to code and fitted with all the required safety equipment.
Whilst the fitting of these sideguards have been mandatory since 2014, there have been historic exemptions which permits the removal of these guards from specific vehicles, including car transporters. The suggested change is to close these exemptions, to ensure that all HGV’s are fitted with them.
Hopefully, if the items addressed and suggested in this report are carried out, then 2019 will see less crashes and collisions then ever before, meaning a greater level of safety and security for truckers. At Dyce Carriers we take our safety extremely seriously, with the lives of our staff, our cargo and other road users always being our primary concern. You can read the full report from the department of transport, here:
