Few of us have the opportunity to climb up into the driver seat of a truck or bus. What a driver can and more importantly cannot see is quite different to that we can see closer to the ground. A Blindzone demonstration provides an opportunity for members of the public, young and older, to sit in the drivers’ seat of a truck and experience things first hand. We position bikes around the truck and ask participants how many they can see. It can be quite a shock to see how invisible you are at certain locations.
All road users have the right to get home safely. Understanding other road users’ needs and vulnerabilities is key to ensuring we can all share the roads. Activities like a Blindzone demonstration help increase peoples understanding and ideally empathy towards other road users. With younger children it is an opportunity to start a conversation about where to position themselves when near to a large vehicle.
We ran a demonstration at the Ruakaka Villy Day Out in late 2024, and then another at the annual Kamo Touch a Truck event in early 2025. Over 300 people took the opportunity to sit in the driver’s seat of the trucks. Check out this super cool, enormous Mack truck and trailer unit we had at the Villy Day Out thanks to Newey’s Transport.
