We have a road safety responsibility

Objectivity can go out the window in specialist magazines. It is all too easy to adopt a partisan approach. John Loughran left his rose tinted glasses at home when he penned this article on road safety.

The road transport industry has come under intense scrutiny in the recent past in relation to its road safety record. The deaths of two Dublin cyclists near O'Connell Bridge earlier in the year and numerous high-profile crashes that resulted in multiple fatalities hammer home the point that trucking is a dangerous profession.

It is generally accepted that truckers are amongst the safest drivers on the road. The haulage industry clock up many millions of miles every year keeping the wheels of industry moving. However there are a small yet significant number of drivers out there, who tarnish and sully the reputation of the industry and more importantly, put lives at risk.

Consignor liability legislation is at last being enforced. Already a number of blue-chip companies have appeared red-faced and have been fined before the courts. It is hoped that this legislation will deter consignors from overloading vehicles.

It has been the standpoint of the haulage industry that the blame for overloading lies with the consignor and that the haulier has been an innocent victim in the overall scheme of things. Like all simplistic theories, it contains a grain of truth, but only a grain.
While the vast majority of truckers are law-abiding individuals, there is a certain element that is only too willing to overload their vehicles in the pursuit of short-term profit. The temptation and opportunity is always there for those who want to flout the law. This particular "breed" of trucker probably runs his truck on agricultural diesel, again looking to make a short-term profit at the expense of the legitimate haulier.

However overloading is not a revenue issue, although those that flout the law will expound this theory. Overloading is very much a road safety issue. Overloading impinges on the driver's ability to stop or manoeuvre the vehicle. It may only be a matter of a few short yards, but how critical could that be in an emergency? It could be the difference between life and death.

The fines currently being handed out to consignors by the district court may not act as much of a deterrent. The embarrassment of appearing before the court in the first place may just be enough to jar the social conscience of these companies.
Now that the logjam has been broken in the courts it is hoped that the Garda’ will go after the consignors. They should also bear in mind that there are a few, yet significant number of transport operators who condone and encourage the practice.

The Garda’ should also focus their attention on another small section of the road transport industry who indulge in aggressive driving. They are in the minority but they are out there on the roads and they are causing mayhem.
The most common form of aggressive driving is speeding and it is a disease all too prevalent in the road transport industry. "Pressure of work" and pressure to meet tight delivery windows are no excuse for speeding. Neither is the argument that extreme traffic congestion in urban areas, force the trucker to "make time" on the open road.

It is not only at the top end of the scale that truckers engage in this practice. You are more likely to find a trucker breaking a 30 or 40 mile an hour speed limit in an urban area than breaking the 60-mile an hour speed limit on the open road.
To break the upper speed limit, a trucker also has to tamper with the "speed limiter" fitted in the truck. It must be all too easy to bypass this "safety device" judging by the number of trucks out there that break the upper speed limit.

Truckers can inadvertently pose a safety risk in the presentation of their vehicles. Cab-mounted spotlights can really "glitz up" up a vehicle in the glamour stakes, but equally they can pose a serious threat to oncoming traffic. It is all very well illuminating the road, but if the end product is to dazzle and disorientate oncoming traffic, the practice must be scotched.

At the other end of the scale, slovenly truckers who take no pride in their truck or trailers can also pose a road safety risk. Sadly over the years there have been numerous fatalities, where motorists have collided with badly marked and badly parked trailers. These lives could have been saved if the driver had paid a little more care and attention.

In the last two years a number of pedestrians have been struck and killed by wheels that have broken free from a moving articulated truck and trailer. Lamentably, these deaths could have been avoided.
A cursory safety check before the vehicle set off would have prevented untold grief and heartache.
The road transport industry has earned a reputation for being a safe, efficient and cost effective mode of transport for moving freight. The reputation has been earned on the back of hard work, honest and professional endeavour.

The time has come for the industry to take an introspective look at its commitment to road safety.