Motorists urged to avoid overtaking trailers

Motorists urged to avoid overtaking long vehicles

By Ayman Adly/Staff Reporter

Overtaking long heavy vehicles and changing lanes in front of them could be a risky affair which may lead to loss of life or serious injuries to occupants of smaller vehicles, a traffic safety expert has pointed out.
“Usually motorists driving small and mid-sized vehicles (SUVs and sedans) assume that truck drivers see them as they take a turn at signals or round-abouts and expect them to give way. Heavy trucks and trailers do not normally gain speed quickly, which makes other motorists think the driver is giving them way to overtake them and this situation can lead to accidents,” he said.
Narrating his experience, an expatriate motorist who was recently involved in a crash with a trailer, said: “I switched on the turning lights, honking and waving to him, and the trailer was moving slow. So I proceeded to overtake him from the left but he gained speed suddenly damaging the rear side of my car.”
He claimed that the trailer’s driver saw him and consented to give him way but he speeded on purpose. However, the driver insisted that he did not see or hear him.
“Why shall I do such a thing, am I interested in delays, wait for the traffic police to come and make the inspection?” he exclaimed.
The scene has been repeated over and again on the same assumptions especially at round-abouts and intersections. “The long vehicle takes a wider angle to turn, so cars in the adjacent lanes should wait until heavy vehicles have completed their turn,” the expert said.
“I was in the middle lane and a trailer was on my right , I turned slowly and its tail hit my car completely damaging its passenger’s side. I consider myself lucky that the truck driver stopped in time and my car did not overturn,” recalled another expatriate motorist.
A similar accident took place when a motorist driving a small sedan wanted to overtake a loaded trailer from the right. The motorist, thinking that the trailer would give him way, proceeded and eventually got stuck between the pavement and the trailer. The driver’s side of the sedan was completely damaged but he escaped uninjured due to the very low speed.
“When I see such trucks or trailers I simply avoid them and wait for them to pass. They are usually supposed to keep the right lane of the road. Motorists should be aware that such long and heavy vehicles have a big blind spot. The mirrors of the vehicle do not display a considerable portion of the road. Even when small cars hit them they may not feel that a crash took place,” explained the traffic safety expert.
At round-abouts in particular, motorists are advised to avoid going side by side with trailers and wait until they take their turns. A motorist recalled how he thought that the trailer driver was going to take a right turn at the round-about because the driver was keeping to the far right lane.
“On this assumption I was going to go straight, but the trailer was really taking a U-turn with a wide angle. Luckily and timely, I got the clue and took a U-turn along with it to avoid a fatal hit,” he related.
“Some of these vehicles have heavily loaded containers and these may suddenly fall especially while taking turns at intersections. Motorists should consider such vehicles a no-no zone,” recommended the expert.
In the meantime, a ban on heavy vehicles on the city’s main roads is practically infeasible, according to many engineers and entrepreneurs in the country.
“There are multiple construction projects around the country with strict deadlines. The constant and timely movement of trucks and trailers is much needed, we cannot avoid this,” said a construction project manger.

Source : http://www.gulf-time...