Road Safety Week event offers HGV driver’s view of the road

ROAD users were given an insight into the challenges faced by heavy goods vehicles yesterday when they had the chance to sample the view from the cab of a 13.1m (40ft) long articulated lorry.

Dean Batiste, left, who is just completing his training to qualify him to drive this size of artic, with Shaun Staples, Ferryspeed’s training and safety officer. (Pictures by Andrew Le Poidevin)

One of the vehicles owned and operated by Ferryspeed was parked at the North Beach car park as part of this year’s Road Safety Week and the company’s training and safety officer, Shaun Staples, was on-hand to explain the issues a driver can face on local roads.

Foremost among these was visibility and he parked his own vehicle some 10m behind the lorry. From the driver’s perspective, it could not be seen.

‘This is all about how we interact with other road users,’ said Mr Staples. ‘The driver has blind spots so what other road users have to appreciate is how to be seen all the time.’

This was the longest lorry operated by the company, which primarily used 8m vehicles, but also had double-deckers.

Most of the time they run between St Peter Port Harbour and Bulwer Avenue but they can sometimes be encountered on other roads, such as when delivering heavy equipment.

Another challenge faced by the drivers of HGVs was cyclists and motorcyclists nipping in front of them when the driver had left a gap between him and the car in front.

Driving at 25mph, the stopping distance is relatively short, thanks to the vehicle’s braking system, but with the 13.1m vehicle capable of carrying 40 tonnes of goods, that is a lot of inertia behind the cab.

The North Beach event was set up by the recently-formed Road Safety Alliance, whose chairwoman, Jennifer Merrett, said the goal of the group was to help all road users understand each others’ needs.

Jennifer Merrett the chairwoman of the recently-formed Road Safety Alliance took a look herself from the cab of a HGV.

‘It’s not about whether or not you’re more important on the road, it’s about whether or not you’re vulnerable on the road,’ she said.

Mrs Merrett’s daughter Rosie, 15, is a regularly bike rider and took the opportunity to sit in the driver’s seat of the artic.

‘It does help you see where the blind spots are,’ she said. ‘I now know how far out to the side I need to be, to be seen by the driver.’

However, she said she thought it unlikely that she would ever attempt to overtake even a slow-moving vehicle this long and it could speed up when she was just halfway along.

Despite being a little way off getting a driving licence, she enjoyed climbing into the seat. ‘It would be quite fun to drive,’ she said.