#donttruckaround
This is the new buzzword in the Western Cape where provincial authorities have embarked on an awareness programme of freight transport for road users.
“We need to reduce the number of freight-related crashes on our roads,” said Corinne Gallant, deputy director of freight in the provincial department of transport and public works said, “hence the hashtag.
“This, however, requires the involvement of all road users and not just the freight sector.”
She said the reality was that 93% of all general freight in the Western Cape was moved on road. “Trucks are always going to be on our roads,” she said. “Road transport will remain the dominant mode of transport to move goods around this province. It is therefore imperative that we make sure that freight is moved as safely and as efficiently as possible.”
Gallant said growing awareness of freight transport and safe movement would see the phrase #donttruckaround used more often in the province, while road freight safety campaigns would be scaled up.
“We already have an established campaign called Safely Home where we engage the general public with transport safety-related content. Freight messages are now going to be added to this campaign’s calendar going forward.”
Already the first video post of two children running in front of truck on a highway has been posted using the tagline #donttruckaround.
“Children may think that playing a game called chicken, which requires you to run in front of a truck and then quickly move out of the way at the last minute, is fun, but it is in fact very dangerous.”
She said whilst the truck driver in the video had miraculously missed the children and no one had been injured in this particular incident, the video had highlighted how dangerous it was to run in front of a truck. “Can you imagine how chilling that incident must have been for that driver? He had two children in front of him and many more pedestrians on either side of the road. He could not take any evasive action.”
Gallant said part of the #donttruckaround campaign would be to enlighten road users and pedestrians that trucks don’t stop as quickly as smaller vehicles and that any swift action by a driver can have catastrophic results.
Two more messages will be shared during October. “In our next message we want to highlight the reality that a truck driver cannot see everything on the road and that children need to stop, look and listen before they cross a road and not just run because they think the truck is still far away and because they are assuming the driver can see them.”
The third video will focus on truck surfing – a growing and concerning trend in the province. “It is a dangerous activity that involves teenagers in particular riding on the outside or back of a moving truck.”
Gallant said it had resulted in numerous deaths already, predominantly caused by head injuries.
