Road Safety and Road Rules
Mass changes everything
Heavy vehicle road rules are largely the same rules that apply to all vehicles, but the consequences of getting them wrong are different. A candidate must understand stopping distance, swept path, blind spots, and the effect of load on stability. Questions often test whether a driver has allowed enough space, signalled early enough, or checked the right mirror before a manoeuvre.
Core rules to know
Know the rules on speed and speed limiting, following distance, overtaking, giving way, roundabouts, and level crossings. Heavy vehicles have specific obligations around following distance, and around the space needed to stop at intersections and railway crossings. Load restraint and dimension limits interact with road rules: an overmass or overdimension vehicle may need permits and may be restricted from certain routes or times.
Vulnerable road users
Heavy vehicle drivers must anticipate pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists, particularly in low-speed manoeuvres where blind spots are largest. Turning vehicles should be given room, and drivers should not assume a heavy vehicle has seen them.
The traps
Common traps include a question where the technically correct rule is defeated by insufficient stopping distance, and questions that assume a heavy vehicle can stop like a car. Another trap is treating a give-way rule as satisfied by indicating rather than by actually yielding. Fatigue and distraction questions often hide the real issue: the driver should not have been driving at all.
Rule of thumb
Double the gap you would leave in a car and add time for the load. If you cannot see the mirrors of the truck ahead, you are too close.
Worked example
A truck approaches a level crossing with limited sight distance. The driver slows, checks that the exit is clear before entering, and does not rely on the boom gates alone.