VicRoads is set to assess the trial and consider a permanent ban
From February 5 trucks in Melbourne will be banned from the right-hand lane on Monash Freeway.
The ban comes as part of a nine-month trial by VicRoads, aimed at improving safety and reducing the number of lane changes undertaken by cars and trucks.
The Victorian Transport Association (VTA) has thrown its support behind the trial, with CEO Peter Anderson saying the initiative will improve safety, productivity and efficiency of moving freight through Melbourne.
Restrictions will apply to trucks travelling in both directions between Huntingdale Road, Mount Waverley and Jacksons Road, Noble Park.
“The Monash Freeway is the most heavily used road in Victoria by trucks travelling between Melbourne’s south east and through to other parts of the state, and it is vital that measures to improve productivity are implemented to keep the freeway safe and efficient for all road users,” Anderson says.
“We supported the dynamic speed trials on the Monash last year for similar reasons that we support this latest trial because any measure that can potentially reduce costs and improve safety for operators is good for business and well worth trying.”
Anderson says the restrictions would inevitably lead to a higher concentration of heavy vehicles in the middle lanes of the freeway and that it is essential passenger vehicle drivers adjust their behaviour to keep the roads safe.
“Eighty per cent of all vehicle collisions are either side-to-side or nose-to-tail and trucks are not always at fault.
“Car drivers must remember that trucks require considerably greater stopping distances so they must leave a safe distance between themselves and other vehicles, refrain from excessive lane changing, and never cut off a heavy vehicle.”
VicRoads is set to assess the trial and consider a permanent ban, as well as using the information to assist in future heavy vehicle policies in the area.
Users of the Monash Freeway are being urged by VicRoads to share their experiences during the trial using an online engagement website that can be accessed here.