You’re on a two-lane highway somewhere in regional NSW, there’s a truck up ahead, and you’re eyeing the stretch of road trying to work out if there’s room to get past. Seems simple enough.
But trucks don’t brake, turn or sit in your blind spot the way a car does, and a move that’d be totally fine in a Corolla can turn genuinely risky once a 20-tonne vehicle is involved.
Trucks are moving the stuff that keeps the country running, groceries, fuel, building materials, pretty much everything, every single day. Keeping the roads they’re on safe isn’t just their job, it’s everyone’s. Here are seven things worth knowing next time you’re sharing a lane with one.
Seven truck safety tips for sharing the road
1. Give them room to stop
Tailgating a truck is one of the more common mistakes out there, and also one of the easier ones to fix. A loaded truck simply can’t pull up as fast as your car can, how much room it needs depends on speed, weight, road surface and weather.
The NSW Government’s own advice is to keep a safe following distance and never cut in close, because the truck might not be able to respond in time.
A rough rule: three seconds in good conditions, more than that if it’s raining, dark, or you’re heading downhill. And if someone else slots into the gap you left, don’t panic, just ease back and let the distance rebuild.
2. Learn where they can’t see you
Truck blind spots are bigger than people think, down the sides of the cab, right behind, and a fair stretch in front too. Sit in one of those zones too long and the driver genuinely has no idea you’re there. Motorcyclists and cyclists are especially easy to lose in these spots.
So don’t hang around beside a truck longer than you need to. Check your mirrors properly before changing lanes, only pass when it’s actually legal to, and give a truck a wide berth while it’s manoeuvring, reversing into a depot or pulling into a servo included. Seeing the truck’s mirrors doesn’t mean the driver can see you.
3. Don’t cut in front
You know the move: overtake, spot a gap, duck back in. If that gap’s tighter than it looked, you’ve just put the truck driver in a spot where they may not have enough room to react if traffic ahead slows down. It’s riskier still near lights, motorway exits, anywhere traffic bunches up, because trucks need noticeably more distance to slow than most people assume.
Once you’re past, make sure there’s a proper buffer before you move back over, and resist the urge to brake the second you’re in front. A couple of extra seconds of patience goes a long way here.
4. Give them space to turn
Ever watched a truck swing out right before turning left? Not a mistake, it’s called off-tracking, and it happens because the rear wheels follow a tighter path than the front ones on a long vehicle. Depending on the truck and the intersection, the driver might genuinely need two lanes to get the turn done, especially at roundabouts or on narrower streets.
If you can’t tell where a turning truck is headed, just hang back. Don’t try to squeeze in beside the kerb, and don’t nose into the space it’s using to complete the turn. A short wait beats a tight squeeze every time.
5. Only overtake when it’s actually clear
Because a truck is so long, it blocks a lot of your view ahead, which makes overtaking more of a judgement call than it looks like. Regional roads are notorious for this: a straight bit that seems made for passing can run straight into a bend or a crest you didn’t see coming.
Before you commit, check overtaking’s actually allowed there, make sure you can see far enough ahead, and check your blind spot before pulling out. Skip it altogether in the wet or when visibility’s poor, and if conditions shift halfway through, bail out rather than push on. When in doubt, just stay put behind the truck.
6. Slow down in the wet, and at night
Rain, fog and darkness all make it harder to read how fast a truck’s going and how far away it really is. Tyre spray cuts visibility if you’re following close, wet roads mean less grip, and in the dark, hazards show up later than you’d like.
Drop your speed, lengthen your following distance, use your lights properly, and keep braking and steering smooth rather than sudden. If it gets too much, pull over somewhere safe and wait it out. And on longer trips, take real breaks, tired driving is its own hazard around heavy vehicles.
7. Understand what the job actually involves
There’s a lot more to driving a truck than most people realise, reading vehicle dimensions, braking performance, blind spots and turning paths, all while a loaded vehicle changes how the truck handles. On top of that, drivers are constantly reading everyone else on the road too.
If you’re thinking about heavy vehicle driving as a career, proper training matters, Tokhi Driving Solutions runs LR, MR and HR truck licence training out of Adelaide, worth a look if that’s the direction you’re headed. Even if trucking’s not on your radar, understanding why these vehicles need extra room to stop and turn makes you a better driver around them.
Why this actually matters
This isn’t a small issue. The Australian Government’s National Road Safety Data Hub puts heavy-vehicle-involved deaths at 225 in the 12 months to March 2026, up 22% on the year before. That doesn’t mean the truck was at fault in all of those, but it’s a clear sign that everyone sharing the road with heavy vehicles has a role to play in bringing that number down.
Reading the “Do not overtake turning vehicle” sign
Plenty of trucks on NSW roads carry a plate on the back that reads DO NOT OVERTAKE TURNING VEHICLE. Only a vehicle or combination 7.5 metres or longer is allowed to display it, and it’s there for a reason: that truck may need more than one lane to get around a corner, left or right.
The rules are short. When a truck showing the sign is turning left, you must not overtake it on the left. When it’s turning right, you must not overtake on the right unless it’s safe to do so. Passing on its left is only allowed when it’s safe and you’re on a multi-lane road, the truck is stationary, or it’s turning right or making a U-turn.
The NSW Government’s page on sharing the road with trucks and buses is blunter still. Don’t put your car in the path of a heavy vehicle while it turns, because you can be crushed, and it’s safest to stay behind until the turn is finished. Out west, in towns like Mungindi and Bourke, road trains swing through main streets that were laid out long before anyone built a 36-metre truck.
Wait for the overtaking lanes on the Newell
The Newell Highway is the inland run between Victoria and Queensland, from Tocumwal on the Murray up through Jerilderie, Parkes, Dubbo and Narrabri to the Queensland border at Goondiwindi. Drive any long stretch of it and you’ll share the road with B-doubles for hours.
That’s why the overtaking lanes matter. Over four years, Transport for NSW built 38 new overtaking lanes on the Newell Highway, about 60 kilometres of extra passing room between Tocumwal and Narrabri, with the last of them opening in November 2023. Our team drives the Newell often enough to know the trick: if you’ve been sitting behind a truck for a while, the next overtaking lane is rarely far away, and the pass you wait for is the one that doesn’t go wrong.
When you’re the slower vehicle, keep left in the overtaking lane and let the trucks behind you get by. Our guide to driving safely in NSW covers the state’s mountain passes and coastal roads too.
Towing a caravan around trucks
A lot of our readers tow, and a caravan changes the maths. With a van on the back, you’re the long vehicle. A truck coming past at highway speed pushes a wall of air ahead of it, so expect a nudge as the cab draws level and a pull as the trailers go by. Keep a light, steady grip on the wheel, stay off the brakes, and ease off the accelerator a touch so the truck clears you sooner.
Truckies talk to each other on UHF channel 40, the road channel used across most of the country. If you carry a UHF radio, leave it on 40 while you’re on the highway and you’ll often hear a driver ask to come past, or thank you for making room. Channel 18 is the one caravanners use among themselves.
Shorter driving days help too. If you’re planning a caravan trip around NSW, break the long legs up with overnight stops at caravan parks across NSW rather than pushing on into the evening, when the light is low and the trucks are still rolling.
Leave the truck bays for trucks
Rest areas are where a lot of friction between cars and trucks starts. Heavy vehicle drivers work under strict fatigue law. On standard hours under the Heavy Vehicle National Law, a solo truck driver can work no more than 5¼ hours in any 5½ hours before taking at least 15 minutes’ rest, and no more than 12 hours in any 24, with at least 7 hours of continuous stationary rest (the NHVR’s work and rest rules set out the full table). When a car is parked across a truck bay, that driver may have to push on, tired, to the next spot where a 26-metre B-double fits.
So use the light vehicle areas. The NSW Government’s rest areas map shows which sites take cars, trucks or both, and its advice is to stop every two hours. During school holidays and long weekends, volunteers from groups such as the SES and Lions Clubs run Driver Reviver sites, with a cup of tea or coffee and a biscuit. Our notes on staying safe on a NSW road trip have more on getting the car ready before you go.
Frequently asked questions
How far back should I stay from a truck?
At least three seconds in good conditions, and more in the rain, at night or heading downhill. If you can’t see the truck’s side mirrors, the driver can’t see you either.
Can I pass a truck showing a “Do not overtake turning vehicle” sign?
Not while it’s turning. Stay behind until the turn is finished. Passing on its left is only allowed when it’s safe and you’re on a multi-lane road, or the truck is stationary, turning right or making a U-turn.
Can I park my car in a truck rest area?
Use a light vehicle rest area wherever there is one. Truck bays are where heavy vehicle drivers take the breaks the fatigue law requires, and the NSW rest areas map shows which sites suit cars.
Bottom line
Whether you’re on a Sydney motorway or a quiet regional stretch, trucks need more room than cars do, to stop, to turn, to manoeuvre. Keep your distance, stay out of their blind spots, overtake only when you’re sure, and don’t rush decisions around them.
It really is a shared responsibility. Give trucks the space they need and drive predictably, and you’re making the road safer for yourself and everyone else on it.