Via the orange button Alert us, Yannick, is exasperated. This truck driver believes that his profession is decried by the population. “A road accident, and it’s the fault of the trucks. If we had to listen to motorists, it’s all the fault of the trucks”, he writes to us. However, Yannick insists: truckers are not responsible for all accidents. So what do the numbers say? We investigated.
Sometimes we have pressure
We meet Patrick, driver for 22 years. Like every day, he hits the road aboard his heavyweight. “We are taken for dangers because we are bigger and more imposing”, notes the driver. He adds : “They don’t let us do our job at our ease. We have to hurry. We have to clear the roads because people are in a hurry.”
However, according to him, the real danger emanates rather from motorists who do not take into account heavy goods vehicles and their constraints. “Because of the weight of the truck, we don’t know how to brake like a car. We need a certain distance. Motorists should be more careful when they come to cut us off,” reports the driver. Before adding: “I’ve already been yelled at because I honked my horn following a car cut me off. Or we get the middle fingers”.
However, Patrick concedes. Not all truck drivers are faultless. Some are indeed guilty of offenses on the road. “We are sometimes upset because we are in a hurry for our deliveries. We sometimes have pressure. Not every day, but it happens”, relate-t-il.
People always have the impression that trucks drive too fast.
Alain Adriaens is the Managing Director of Ideal Freight, a family transport company. He recalls that truckers are “road professionals unlike ordinary mortals”. “We have to share the road. Everyone has their place. Our drivers are professionals. Sometimes that doesn’t prevent a collision,” he explains.
This boss sometimes comes under criticism from motorists unhappy with the conduct of his employees. “People call from their car to tell us ‘Your truck is going too fast’. People always have the impression that trucks are going too fast.he insists.
It’s been a long time since our carriers felt loved.
For Mickaël Reul, president of the Professional Union of Road Transport, drivers are often wrongly criticized. “It’s been a long time since our carriers felt loved. Unfortunately, they have this feeling and frustration of being responsible for all the misfortunes”, he confides.
A mistake that can be explained in particular by their increasing presence on the roads. “There are more and more of them. They are responding to consumer demand. No, we are not the kings of the road. Yes, we ask for respect and for everyone to behave in a civic manner on the roads”, he indicates.
7 billion kilometers traveled in 2021
Indeed, trucks have never been so numerous. In Belgium alone, they traveled nearly 7 billion kilometers in 2021. This represents an increase of 6% in one year. According to Michaël Reul, on the road transport side, everything is done to guarantee the safety of truckers and other road users.
Fewer and fewer bodily accidents involving a truck
“Our drivers are professionals. They follow refresher courses. They pass a medical screening at regular intervals. They cover a lot of kilometers and therefore per kilometer traveled, they are the least dangerous road users”, insists the spokesperson.
Between 2012 and 2021, the number of injury accidents involving a truck decreased by 23%. In 7 out of 10 cases, accidents involving a heavy goods vehicle are not caused by the truck driver according to statistics collected by the Vias Institute. If some users put the blame on truck drivers, it is for one simple reason.
“When an accident happens with a truck, it is three times more serious. It takes much longer to clear the consequences of the accident and therefore it bothers more people for a longer time”, reports Benoît Godart, spokesperson for Vias. As road professionals, truck drivers are also subject to very specific rules in order to ensure road safety and thus limit the risk of accidents. In particular, they must respect driving times and undergo regular training.
For his part, Patrick is aware that on the road, “the danger is there at all times”. “It’s a risk that I take and that I have accepted since I started riding”, breathes the driver who, in 22 years, has experienced only one road accident.
