Heavy vehicles road safety

Construction trucks and community safety

View resources to improve safety when construction trucks are used near pedestrians, bicycle riders and motorcyclists.

This page has been created to share the resources we’ve developed over the past three years to help state and local government, developers and utilities better manage their construction projects and the construction industry improve delivery, with more consideration for vulnerable road users.

Watch the video below to learn about the measures Metro Tunnel has implemented to protect pedestrians, bicycle riders and motorcyclists.
 

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Truck safety features

To help improve safety, we’ve developed the following truck safety feature recommendations for construction trucks used at construction sites:

  • Trucks should have side under-run protection
  • The truck’s front, rear and side blind-spots should be eliminated or minimised through the use of visual aids, sensors and audible or visual alerts
  • Trucks should be fitted with audible indicators to alert other road users when they’re turning left
  • Trucks should display prominent signage warning people of the dangers of travelling too close to trucks 
  • Increase conspicuity with the use of fluorescent and retroflective tape outlining the body of the truck and trailer, and increasing the visibility of the drawbar.
  • Trucks should protect the air quality of vulnerable road users by achieving a minimum of Euro 4, but preferably Euro 5 or above.

Resources and research

Driver training

Construction truck subcontractors can support truck driver awareness and knowledge by offering training and continuous professional development around on-road hazards and driving safely near vulnerable road users. 

This training should include a mix of theoretical, practical and on-the-job training.

Resources

View this video on truck driver training on the Metro Tunnel Project. 

For other toolbox talks check out the national road safety partnership program toolbox talk web page.

Temporary traffic management planning and vulnerable road users

The Austroads Guide to Temporary Traffic Management is based on best temporary traffic management practices in Australia and New Zealand. The guide is used to assist road authorities to meet their existing legislative responsibilities for workplace and public safety. 

As vulnerable road users are particularly at risk at temporary traffic management sites, it's important to ensure the Austroads guide is closely followed in both the design and implementation phases to maximise safety for these vulnerable groups.

Route selection

We recommend using the HIRA tool to workshop the selection of appropriate truck routes in order to minimise their interaction with vulnerable road users.

Instructional video

Resources

Victorian crash analysis data

Communications and publicity

Resources

Model contract clauses

You may consider including the following clauses in your construction contracts to protect vulnerable road users when they’re travelling near worksites and around construction trucks.

 

TopicModel contract clause
Truck safety features

Safe vehicles - Specialist VRU Equipment

Ensure heavy vehicles used in the carrying out of contract activities:

  1. have side under-run protection;
  2. have front, rear and side blind-spots eliminated or minimised through the use of direct and indirect vision aids, sensors and audible or visual driver alerts;
  3. have audible means of warning other road users of a left-turn manoeuvre; and
  4. have prominent signage on the vehicle warning cyclists and other road users of the dangers of manoeuvring past the inside of the vehicle or getting too close to the vehicle.
  5. use fluorescent and retroflective tape to outline the body of the truck and trailer, and increase the visibility of the drawbar.
  6. use trucks that meet a minimum of Euro 4, but preferably Euro 5 or above standard.
Driving training

Safe people - training

Heavy vehicle drivers working on the Major Construction undertake training and continuous professional development covering the safety of VRU and on-road hazard awareness. The training is to include a mix of theoretical, practical and on the job training.

Traffic management planning and vulnerable road users

Safe Traffic Management - Improve Standards to Accommodate Vulnerable Road Users

Ensure the highest standard of traffic management planning that follows all standards required, to provide for safe and secure movement of vulnerable road users around every work site.

Route selection

Route Selection

Undertake route selection workshops using the Human Impact Route Assessment (HIRA) tool, in order to investigate the impact of different routes on vulnerable road users (VRU) and examine community impacts. Avoid routes that go through areas of high VRU use where possible or implement suitable protection mechanisms.

Key partners