The Australian Trucking Association is calling on road users to share the road safely with heavy vehicles, with its animated road safety videos now on WIN TV Gippsland as part of the Truckies Lighting Up for Safety campaign.

Organised by the Gippsland Safe Freight Network, Truckies Lighting Up for Safety calls on trucking operators in Gippsland to turn on their headlights to reduce daytime collisions and draw attention to the ‘invisible truck’ phenomenon.

Campaign spokesman Alan Pincott said there had been a drastic reduction in crashes involving heavy vehicles in Gippsland since the campaign started in January.

“However, any crash is one too many. We need to keep building on this success and continue to improve safety on our roads,” Mr Pincott said.

“The ATA road safety tips on the TV have been really popular – we’ve had a lot of positive feedback from truckies and from members of the public.

“These ads are critically important in getting the basic safety information out to the general public. A lot of people have been telling us that they just didn’t know about these issues to start with.”

Local operator Nola Bransgrove from Branstrans is also sponsoring a visit by the ATA Safety Truck to Gippsland from 22 – 28 March 2014 as part of the campaign.

“I think there’s a great synergy between Truckies Light Up and the Safety Truck – they’re both trucking industry initiatives working to help people stay safe on our roads,” Mrs Bransgrove said.

“In regional and rural areas, there’s an intimate relationship between trucks and the community. Everyone knows someone with a truck or who drives one, and trucks deliver everything to the community.

“Trucking operators are doing our bit, and now we’re asking other road users to work with us and help make sure everyone gets home safely at the end of the day.”

The Safety Truck will open its doors at Lakes Entrance, Bairnsdale, Sale, Morwell and Leongatha during its Gippsland tour. Further information about where to go to visit the truck will be released closer to the date.

The Truckies’ safety tips will run on WIN TV Gippsland for four weeks from Sunday 23 February. The videos can also be viewed on the ATA’s YouTube channel.

To find out more about sponsoring the Safety Truck, go to www.safetytruck.com.au or contact Steve Power on steve.power@truck.net.au or 02 6253 6900.