The New Zealand Trucking Association’s (NTA) flagship road safety initiative is being credited with changing attitudes and saving lives on the nation’s roads.
Since 2017, the small NTA team has taken its Road Safety Truck to schools, training organisations and community events across the country, teaching practical tips on how to share the road safely and explaining the physics behind a heavy vehicle in simple terms.
What began as conversations and demonstrations soon revealed a worrying reality — most other road users had little understanding of how trucks operate and why they need space on the road. Many believed “all trucks are bad”, prompting the association to make road user education a priority.
Over the years, the NTA has developed interactive programmes to challenge these misconceptions. The Don’t Muck with a Truck programme focuses on three key safety messages:
- Understanding blind zones
- How to pass a truck safely
- How turning trucks move and why they need room
For the first time, the association has data to back the programme’s impact.
Before completing the programme, on average 80 per cent of participants had only limited knowledge, and 7–10 per cent had no knowledge at all of how to interact safely with heavy vehicles. After completing it, 96 per cent fully understood the risks, challenges and safety requirements of sharing the road with trucks, and pledged to change their driving behaviour.
“This is life-saving work,” says NTA chief operating officer Carol McGeady.
“Every time we run a session, we know we are directly reducing the risk of a crash. Seeing drivers go from having no idea why a truck needs space to fully understanding and respecting it is exactly why we keep doing this.”
The free programme is supported by Penske, Teletrac Navman, NZI and Carters Tyres, with NTA members’ subscriptions helping to fund delivery nationwide.
The association is encouraging training organisations, schools and community groups to get involved, and is seeking donations to provide resources and take-home safety packs for participants.
“If you’re in the trucking industry and not yet a member of the NZ Trucking Association, now is the time to join,” McGeady says.
“We do this for the whole industry, but the truth is, we can only keep doing it with your support.”
The Don’t Muck with a Truck programme was developed by the Australian National Heavy Vehicle Regulator, which has allowed the NTA to use it in New Zealand.
*Go to nztruckingassn.co.nz/dmwat-classroom-programme for more details.
