Fatigue management, work diaries and emergency procedures
Driving Techniques: Braking, Gearing, Cornering and Following Distance
Braking
Heavy vehicles run air brakes, which have a noticeable lag between pedal and response, and stopping distance grows sharply with mass. Brake early, brake smoothly, and leave room. On a long descent, continuous light braking overheats the drums and causes brake fade - the pedal goes soft and nothing much happens. Prevent it by selecting a low gear before the crest, using the engine brake or retarder, and applying snub braking: firm applications that pull speed down 10 to 15 km/h, then release, letting the engine hold the speed between applications.
Gearing
Change down before the hill, not on it. Keep the engine in its torque band and use progressive, unhurried changes. Coasting in neutral or with the clutch in is illegal in effect and dangerous in practice - you lose engine braking and control.
Cornering
A loaded truck carries its weight high, and its rollover threshold is low. Centrifugal force rises with the square of speed: double your speed through a corner and you quadruple the force trying to tip you over. Brake before the corner, hold a steady speed through it, and accelerate gently out. Watch for loads that shift and for soft shoulders and cambers.
Following distance
Use at least a four-second gap in good conditions, and more in rain, darkness, poor visibility or when heavily loaded. The gap buys you reaction time and lets cars pull into the space ahead rather than cutting you off.
Rule of thumb: if the vehicle ahead passes a pole and you reach it before you can say four full seconds, you are too close.
Fatigue Management, Work Diaries and Emergency Procedures
Fatigue is regulated, not optional
Fatigue rules under the national heavy vehicle law set maximum work and minimum rest. Under standard hours you may work no more than 12 hours in any 24-hour period, must take a continuous break of at least 5.5 hours of stationary rest in that 24 hours, and must not work more than 72 hours in any 7 days. Longer cycles impose additional requirements, including night rest breaks.
Your work diary records work and rest in 15-minute blocks. It must be carried while driving, completed honestly, and kept for the required retention period. False entries are a serious offence, and so is driving while over your allowed hours - the officer checks the diary, not your intentions.
Warning signs to act on: yawning, heavy eyes, drifting within the lane, missing signs, and not remembering the last few kilometres. Pull over somewhere safe and rest; coffee and open windows are not a substitute for sleep.
Emergencies
If you break down, get as far off the carriageway as you can, switch on hazard lights, and set out warning triangles well behind the vehicle - much further back on a highway than in town. Keep passengers away from the traffic side. For fire, stop, evacuate upwind and call 000. For a crash, secure the scene, give first aid within your training, and report the incident to police and your operator. Never attempt a roadside repair in a live lane.
Rule of thumb: if you feel tired enough to ask yourself whether you are tired, you already are - stop at the next safe place rather than the next town.