The National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) and Leader Specialised Freight are reminding road users to give heavy vehicles space as they transport precious and fragile goods in time for Mother's Day.
Fresh cut flower sales are set to bloom this Mother's Day, with every bunch sold contributing towards the $308 million dollar industry.
NHVR Chief Operations Officer Paul Salvati said trucks play a crucial role in delivering essential goods and services to our local shops and supermarkets.
"Some of the heaviest vehicles on Australia's roads are responsible for transporting our most delicate flowers from regional areas such as the Dandenong Ranges in Victoria and Dandaragan in Western Australia, to stores nationwide in time for Mother's Day.
"Road crashes are preventable - safe driving behaviours such as never tailgating and having the same patience with road users that you have with your loved ones, helps ensure all drivers return home safely."
Leader Specialised Freight Co-Owner Matt Bazeley said the demand for floral bouquets can put pressure on heavy vehicle operators and drivers transporting flowers from wholesalers, farms and nurseries to florists and supermarket retailers.
"In the lead up to Mother's Day we will schedule up to four times more runs to deliver flowers safely in time to spoil all of the mums," said Mr Bazeley.
"The community can help ensure everyone travelling on our roads, and the thousands of boxes of fragile flowers, reach their destination safely by giving trucks plenty of space.
"Trucks have different blind spots than cars and require a longer distance to safely stop, so leave plenty of space before pulling in front of a truck and keep either lane beside a truck free when it's accessing a roundabout or turning."
Tesselaar Flowers Brisbane Market Manager Troy Maunder said working with their transport and logistics partners is a key step in ensuring fresh cut flowers are skillfully delivered to florists and markets.
"Mother's Day is a peak period for us - we are preparing all local and imported seasonal flowers including roses, chrysanthemums, tulips, peonies, lisianthus and natives supplied by our Australian and abroad growers," Mr Maunder said.
"We work closely with our transport partner, Leader Specialised Freight, to have the flowers ready to load so the driver isn't delayed, reducing the wait or queuing time that contributes to a heavy vehicle driver's work hours and impacting their fatigue."
