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Charlotte Haye 8th March 2021

Staying Safe When You’re On The Road

When we get our very first driver’s license, we’re taught a lot about safety. Mainly road safety when you’re behind the wheel, but also some general awareness and safety for when you’re out and about on the road, most of which is common sense, or common knowledge, and probably won’t even need to be used by most people. But with HGV drivers, the equation is a little different. Drivers are on the road all the time, and often end up spending nights on the side of the road, in car parks or in service stations. And sometimes, they might not be able to stop in the safest of places. And so, HGV drivers need to know how they can keep themselves safe on the road in a slightly different way to the standard ‘no phone, emergency kit’ advice. Here’s our top tips.

The Seatbelt Trick

If you haven’t been able to find a service station nearby and you have to do a rest stop at night, you may end up having to find somewhere a bit more public to park up. This means sleeping in your cab, which understandably makes a lot of drivers feel a little uncomfortable. Obviously, you should ensure all of your doors are locked properly before you turn in for the night, but there is one more trick you can employ to make sure your door can’t be opened from the outside during the night. Take your seatbelt, and wrap it around your door handle. Finish the wrap with the buckle facing towards you, pull it tight and plug it into the seatbelt clip. This keeps your door shut tight, so even if your locks fail or someone gets past them, they still won’t be able to open your door. This can be done on both doors, so that you can be confident your cab is secure and you can get a good night’s sleep.

Safety Checks

This might seem obvious, but it isn’t always! As a HGV driver you should know that doing your safety checks every day is essential for both the safety of you and other road users. But if you’ve spent the night in a service station, you might think you don’t need to do those checks, since it’s the same journey. That’s where you’re wrong. Unfortunately, there are a lot of thieves, thugs and sometimes idiots out there who might try to tamper with your HGV while you are asleep, or away from the vehicle in the service station. The most common thing for them to try and do is to pull your fifth wheel lock, which can cause all sorts of problems if you then just try to drive off with it locked. You can mitigate this by pulling your cab forward with the trailer brakes on, creating pressure on the king pin that stops them being able to pull your lock. But good practice, even if you do this, is to get out and do your full safety checks every time you leave a stop.

Be Aware Of Your Surroundings

If you’re stopped, no matter whether you’re in a stop for the night or just pulling over for a rest, make sure you are always aware of your surroundings. Keep your head up and don’t stare at your phone. When walking to and from your HGV, walk around the end of parking spaces instead of between the vehicles. If someone comes up to your window while you’re sitting in a car park, wave them on. And beware of common tricks thieves and thugs will use to get you out of your cab. The main one is the penny trick – where they will sip a penny between the glad hand and the receiver, and this will stop your brakes from releasing. If you feel this when you’re starting to pull away, your first instinct will be to jump out and have a look at what’s going on. But this takes you outside the safety of your cab, and makes both you and the vehicle an easy target. So stop, take a look at around, and really pay attention to your surroundings before even considering leaving the vehicle. If you suspect something is amiss, call someone in the service station to come out to the HGV – this will usually out thieves off and allow you to fix the problem. Sadly, while these tips are important for everyone, it’s women HGV drivers who need to pay special attention to their personal safety at truck stops, especially at night.

Know How To React

If, unfortunately, you are targeted by lorry thieves and you find yourself in the cab while they are stealing from the vehicle, you need to know how to react. Your instinct might be to try and scare them away, or interrupt them – but honestly the safest thing is to do nothing at all. If you try to get involved, there is a chance you could be hurt or worse, and no job in the world is worth that. So just like retail workers are trained to give the money in their till to an armed robber who demands it, your priority in this case is your own safety. Stay in your cab at all times, lock to doors, start your engine and switch on your lights and hazards. Then lean on the horn to attract attention. No thieves want the attention of others, and making yourself as visible, audible and identifiable as possible might just deter them and send them running. And of course, call the police while you are doing this to get help on the way.

We would all like to think the world is a nice place, but some people are not so nice, and sometimes bad things happen. Thieves and gangs know that a lot of valuable things are transported in HGVs, so sadly they tend to be a popular target for robbery or theft. That’s why as the driver of the vehicle, you need to know not only how to make sure your vehicle is safe to drive, but how to keep yourself safe on your journeys as well. All of this is covered in our HGV training courses, but if you would like to know more, just get in touch with our team today.

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