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A custom truck and trailer combination spec’d to deliver innovative educational road safety programs is expected to hit the road in November 2021.

Instruckta is the name of the truck and semi-trailer which is in development. This project was made possible with the support of the Federal Government’s Heavy Vehicle Safety Initiative (HVSI), WA’s Road Safety Commission and other industry partners.

It is the shared responsibility of government, business, the not-for-profit sector and the wider community to make Western Australia’s roads safer according to the team backing Instruckta.

The freight task is growing in Western Australia and this initiative fills a gap in road safety education.

The volume of heavy vehicle roads hitting the road is projected to double in the next nine years and triple by 2050.

NTARC report (October 2020) found 80 per cent of fatal accidents involving cars and trucks in Australia are deemed to be the fault of the car driver, not the heavy vehicle driver.

Instruckta will reportedly be used to educate current and future road users about how to safely interact with trucks on the road. It contains innovative, technology-driven education programs which will engage people of all ages in Western Australia.

By visiting schools, community events and public spaces around Western Australia, Instruckta will tailor interactive and digital information experiences to increase understanding and change behaviour.

Ana Stachewicz, CEO of Road safety audit specialist, Transafe WA, said there is a critical need to educate current and future road users how to share the road safely with trucks in WA – something not currently being met in the state’s education system or road safety strategy priorities.

Stachewicz said this issue is not confined to regional roads. Between 2015 and 2019, half of the people killed or seriously injured in crashes involving at least one heavy vehicle were in the metropolitan area.

In an Australian first, Transafe WA will introduce Instruckta – a truck and customised semi-trailer which expands into a cutting-edge education space. Instruckta will travel to schools and community events around the state engaging the general public with learning opportunities that utilise augmented and virtual reality.

Primary school age children will learn about truck drivers, what they do, and the size of trucks relative to them.

“Our programming includes fun interactive, consequence driven games,” said Stachewicz.

“We then build on these programs for secondary school age children and the community adding experiences that explore truck blind spots, overtaking and road courtesy.

“We’re taking road safety up a level in WA, and using the awesome technology available to us to put the general road user in the truck driver’s seat and generate behavioural change on our roads.”

Cam Dumesny, Western Roads Federation CEO, said Instruckta is an exciting and necessary initiative in Western Australia, which is going to fill an enormous gap in road safety education.

“The State Government of Western Australia has more than $2.39 billion committed to creating and upgrading roads around the state, to make our infrastructure safe for everyone,” he said.

“But this is only part of the solution. It’s our shared responsibility as the WA community – the trucking industry, all the industries that rely on us, the not for profit sector, government and every Western Australian on the road – to learn how to safely and confidently share the roads with heavy vehicles.”