The ‘Road Ahead’ before the update.
The Australian Trucking Association (ATA) will completely renew its well-travelled mobile road safety exhibition, the Road Ahead.
The $1.3 million trailer will be redeveloped after being on the road for five years and hosting more than 80,000 visitors. The exhibition won the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport Australia’s 2010 Award for Excellence in Community Service.
The ATA will use the exhibition to work with regional road safety groups to give local teenagers tips about how to share the road safely with heavy vehicles.
ATA chief executive Stuart St Clair said the updated exhibition would give the trucking industry the opportunity to make sure that vulnerable young drivers don’t learn road safety lessons the hard way.
“Sharing the road safely is everyone’s responsibility, but nowhere in their driver’s tests are L and P plate drivers taught to interact safely with a truck or oversized vehicle,” Mr St Clair said.
“The new exhibition will feature videos and interactive activities designed to help young drivers understand the dangers of cutting in front of heavy vehicles, show them where the blind spots are on a truck and demonstrate why heavy vehicles need plenty of space when turning.
“We’ll also develop apps that students can play to show other important road safety issues.”
The exhibition will also feature photo and video walls showing the essential role trucks play in everyday life, and the contributions the industry makes to the community.
“Trucks deliver every item on every shelf of your supermarket, and carry more than 70 per cent of Australian freight,” Mr St Clair said.
“The industry also supports the community through events like the Newcastle Transport Awareness Day, which raised more than $100,000 for the Westpac Rescue Helicopter in 2012, or the many Convoys for Kids that raise funds for cancer charities.
“We look forward to taking part in events like these with the upgraded exhibition, and sharing the trucking industry’s stories with the wider community.”
Trucking operators from the ATA’s member associations and the TruckSafe safety accreditation program will be invited to supply photos for inclusion in the exhibition.
