Scania has played a key role as a sponsor of the recent Australian Road Safety Foundation heavy vehicle safety award, which was presented to ‘Steering the Future’ at an annual awards event at Parliament House in Canberra last month.
According to Scania, Steering the Future is an education and inspiration trailer designed to engage and inform the next generation of road users. It was developed by the team at Truckin’ Life P/L, who have more than 80 years of combined experience in the road transport industry, and who understand the daily challenges faced by professional drivers.
“As parents of teenage children currently navigating the licencing system, it became alarmingly clear that there is little to no focus in the learner handbook about how to share the road safely with heavy vehicles,” says Craig Forsyth, one of the owners of Truckin’ Life and Steering the Future.
“There is a lack of awareness around crucial topics such as truck blind spots, stopping distances, and turning space. As we often say, ‘You don’t know what you don’t know’.”
Forsyth says that Steering the Future aims to be on the road 40 weeks of the year, delivering an education program to schools across the country, using engaging and age-appropriate presentations.
“We aim to equip young Australians with the knowledge and respect required to drive safely around trucks and other large vehicles. If you have not grown up in a trucking family, or have no direct links to the transport industry, there’s often little understanding, let alone appreciation for the essential work our drivers do every day to keep Australia moving,” he said.
“We want to create more aware and respectful road users, and if even a small number choose a career in transport, we are helping build better drivers from the ground up. That is a win for all road users.
“The Steering the Future team feels incredibly privileged to do the work we do and are truly grateful for the recognition we have received. Thank you to the Australian Road Safety Foundation for hosting these important awards, and to Scania Australia for supporting the Heavy Vehicle Safety Award.
“To receive this award from Scania, a company that places such a strong emphasis on safety, not just within their vehicles but across all areas of their operations and workforce is an incredible honour. It is clear that we share very like-minded goals when it comes to creating safer roads for everyone, and we are truly proud to be recognised by a company so deeply committed to driving positive change in our industry,” Forsyth sayid.
According to Scania Australia managing director, Manfred Streit the Award goes to the heart of Scania’s values.
“We have a long and storied history of developing the safest trucks, and also through our Scania Driver Training programme, helping to guide existing drivers to be the best they can be, in terms of safety, fuel efficiency and above all, having the right attitude behind the wheel.
“The Steering the Future programme is aimed at preparing new drivers to be able to share the road with trucks and may well even encourage some youngsters to take up a career in transport. We congratulate the Steering the Future team for their success to date and hope that many more schools in Australia take advantage of this road safety training asset,” Streit said.
