It’s a total eye opener

It’s a total eye opener!  Unless you have sat in the driver’s seat of a large truck you have no idea just how little you can see from up there.  I strongly recommend that all people who ride on the road do the Share the Road Truck Blindzone training 

Andy McClune - Takapuna Grammar School Cycling Club pres.

Share the Road Blindzone workshop with Westlake Boys High School road team

Auckland’s Tamaki Yacht Club has become a beautiful backdrop for a number of School Road Cycling teams this  year to do the Share the Road Truck Blindzone workshop.  During term 2 weekend mornings teams have been stopping in mid-ride to  learn about truck blind zones and how to ride more confidently when sharing  the road with heavy vehicles. 

School Road teams are  a group of young people out on the roads both in the city and the country who are  constantly sharing the road with heavy vehicles. For the most part these young roadies will  have little experience on the road, most don’t have their driver’s license  and their attention can often be on the wheel of the rider in front.

This season Share the Road ran a large number of our truck blind zone workshops with  Auckland school  teams, their coaches and parents.

 We had up to 60 participants at  some of these and a number of schools are committing  to running the Blindzone  workshop annually for both new riders and to refresh the minds of more experienced students. 

Riders are  encouraged to be in control of their bike and situation, ride to be  seen and to choose safe routes.  The short workshop is a great chance for riders, coaches and parents and  family members to get up into the drivers seat and  experience truck  blindzones. It’s an eyeopener for those who haven’t experienced it before.

Our program has had a wide range of trucks generously provided by  Transport companies of whom we work with drivers.  Among these are :  the TR Group, Fonterra, Waste Management, Icon Logistics and  Linfox who have in many cases sent along a knowledgeable driver to share with young riders some valuable perspectives from the driver’s seat. It’s invaluable  putting a human face to this role, understanding the rigours of a job that often demands 70 hours a week and the constant stresses of driving on a congested road network,  where more people and freight are moving  around at any time of the day and more people are choosing to ride bikes.

A  Share the Road Blindzone workshop takes  30 minutes and is an excellent opportunity to develop awareness with young road cyclists. The workshop is suitable  for all riders and a demonstration of truck blindzones is an  interesting and practical module for any bike ready  grade 2 class. We   particularly recommended  it for schools that have high heavy vehicle traffic movements around them . Share The Road can support instructors with training and we are able to provide trucks for these workshops. 

See: www.sharetheroad.org.nz for more information and how to book a session for your school or cycling club.