Truck breakdown safety

Truck breakdown safety

Whether you’ve been on the road driving a truck for four weeks or four decades, a breakdown can be a harrowing experience. By planning for a breakdown, you can improve your chances of getting back on the road quickly and with no harm done. How you react during the event and the steps you take immediately following the incident also have a dramatic impact on your safety and that of your fellow road travellers. In this guide, our goal is provide you with a handful of things to do and avoid doing when a breakdown occurs. For this guide, we are relying on the recommended strategies from the Victorian Transport Industry Safety Group, which is a trucking industry advocacy group set up to represent employers, drivers, and mechanical service providers.

A safe start

Before we break down your basic plan of action, it’s important to understand that the truck driver’s employer is obligated to provide training that pertains to the local road laws, how to handle typical payloads, how to drive and maintain the vehicle safely, and how to avoid the risks and hazards that come with the job of truck driver.

Part 1: Preparing for a breakdown

The ultimate goal of preparing for a breakdown is to avoid ever having a breakdown in the first place. There are many factors that are out of our hands, so having a plan in place for the inevitable unexpected stop is vital. The primary topics of this phase of breakdown safety include training, visibility, vehicle setup, and communication.

Training

In the event of a breakdown, truck drivers will be without many of the comforts, conveniences, and necessities of the workshop, so they should be given strategies for how to handle working alone along the side of the road. This training should include:

• First aid
• Traffic management procedures
• Communications systems
• Risk assessments

Visibility

Day or night, a truck at the side of the road can be an unexpected encounter for other drivers. It is imperative that the stopped truck is clearly visible from as far away as possible. To ensure other drivers see your truck:

• Vehicles that spend a great deal of time on the road should be brightly coloured, with numerous reflective markings
• Get in the habit of wearing clothing that contrasts with the vehicle’s colour or keep a high-visibility reflective vest within easy reach in the cabin
• The vehicle should be capable of being brightly illuminated with emergency lights, a flash bar, or corner light
• Carry portable signs, cones, and warning lamps to help draw attention to the disabled truck

Vehicle setup

The vehicle should always be properly equipped to let the driver perform routine or minor maintenance tasks or repairs quickly. Some tips in this regard:

• Ensure the vehicle compartments containing repair and visibility-enhancing equipment are located on the left hand side
• Set up the vehicle to minimise the need to walk on the traffic side
• Ensure auxiliary lighting and vehicle hazard lights are fully operational before each outing

Communication

In an emergency, drivers need to be able to call for help, reach emergency personnel, and communicate their location and status. To achieve this do the following:

• Keep a mobile phone fully charged and readily accessible
• Have a two-way radio in the vehicle or on the driver at all times for use in areas where mobile phone reception is poor or unreliable
• Make sure a GPS-capable device is operational onboard the vehicle

Part 2: During the breakdown

When a driver first becomes aware that the vehicle is breaking down, there are many split-second decisions that need to be made to ensure the safest possible outcome, and regular safety training is the best way to ensure that the driver reacts appropriately.

Vehicle stop location

During a breakdown, it’s not always possible to determine where the vehicle comes to a stop, but when the driver becomes aware of a problem, he or she should immediately begin looking for a safe stopping location.

• Look for a hard flat surface, and avoid pulling onto a soft shoulder that might not be able to support the tyre load or the point load of a jack or axle stand
• Ensure there is sufficient room on the shoulder of the road, clear of moving traffic
• Avoid blocking traffic’s view of nearby pedestrians, businesses, or public areas
• The breakdown location should allow 3 metres of clearance from passing traffic
• If you cannot achieve 3 metres of clearance, ensure that the truck is visible to approaching vehicles, and make sure the truck does not encroach onto the roadway
• In the event that the breakdown blocks traffic or compromises safety, immediately call the authorities and arrange to have traffic rerouted and the vehicle moved

Assessing your situation

Once you’ve parked the disabled vehicle, you should determine the next course of action, making sure your personal safety and the safety of other drivers and pedestrians is your primary consideration.

• Immediately turn on your hazard lights
• Place warning triangles or cones, spacing them according to local ordinances
• If necessary, activate electronic flares and place them on the rear of the vehicle
• If necessary, call the police or local authorities to provide traffic control or to report the incident, making sure to alert them if your payload consists of hazardous material or livestock

• Determine whether or not the repairs can safely be attempted along the roadway
• If it is not safe to repair the truck in its current location, look into having the truck moved elsewhere
• If the repairs needed are on the left side, ensure that there are no obstructions preventing easy access to that area
• If the needed repairs are on the right side or front, park as close to the curb as possible and angle the front of the vehicle as far to the left as possible for a little extra clearance
• Exit the vehicle away from traffic if possible
• Determine if you’ll need to perform a partial or full unload of the trailer in order to execute the repairs
• Immobilize the vehicle using both a parking brake and wheel chocks
• If the breakdown resulted in debris in the roadway or along the shoulder, safely attempt to clear it

Getting back on the road again

Once you have secured the vehicle and surrounding area to the best of your ability, your primary goal is to perform the minor repair in as safe a manner as possible while staying away from the roadway, or wait for assistance from a service technician.

SOURCE:

Truck Emergency Breakdown And Roadside Safety TEBARS

You can access the organization’s Truck Emergency Breakdown And Roadside Safety (TEBARS) guide by visiting https://www.worksafe.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/112937/TEBARS.pd

Roads & Maritime http://www.rms.nsw.gov.au/documents/roads/licence/heavy-vehicle-driver-handbook.pdf