Truck driver Brendan Smith wants drivers to be more aware of trucks on the road.
Camera IconTruck driver Brendan Smith wants drivers to be more aware of trucks on the road. Credit: Supplied/Supplied

Truckie calls for more consideration

John Dobson, Weekend CourierWeekend Kwinana Courier

This week marks National Truck Week, with groups across Australia urging motorists to be more mindful of larger vehicles on the road.

Secret Harbour truckie Brendan Smith (51) has driven on WA roads for 31 years and has witnessed the spectrum of bad driving and potentially fatal near misses.

‘We just want drivers to show a bit more consideration because we are out delivering everything for them, we are not driving around on holiday,’ he said.

‘We are not all bad blokes or cowboys, we are doing our job and we like to get home at the end of the week like the next bloke.’

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Mr Smith said the most common mistake made by drivers was misjudging the speed of a truck and either pulling out in front of them or pulling into a lane in front of a truck that is slowing down.

‘When I come up to a |T-junction, often cars pull into the lane in front of me, thinking I’m not going very quickly, but it takes a lot to slow down a truck ” that’s why we leave that space,’ he said.

‘There is no care factor from cars; we are driving with their safety in our minds, looking ahead for any possible dangerous situation, because we are high up’