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Rollover Prevention Training
How to reduce your chances of rolling your truck or trailer
$69 +GST per person ($79.35)
4 x $17.25
Rollover Prevention Training
How to reduce your chances of rolling your truck or trailer
There are more than 200 heavy vehicle rollover crashes per year in New Zealand. Most truck rollovers don't happen in a storm or on a gravel road. They happen on a dry, familiar corner, often one with an advisory speed sign.
A loaded truck gives very little warning before it tips. Once a trailer starts to lift, it's usually too late to save it. The result can be a dead or badly injured driver, a written-off truck and load, and a closed road.
Yet rollover prevention isn’t part of getting a heavy vehicle licence, so many drivers only learn where their truck’s limit is by getting too close to it.
This online rollover prevention training shows truck drivers why trucks roll over and how to stay well inside the limit without testing it. It explains stability in plain terms, with New Zealand examples.
After the course, drivers will be able to:
- explain how centre of gravity, load height and weight spread affect stability
- read the static roll threshold (SRT) limits on their vehicle's certificate
- spot the nine common causes of rollover crashes and avoid them
- use steering and braking methods that lower the risk
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What is a rollover prevention course?
A rollover prevention course is a specialised training program for heavy-vehicle drivers that teaches them how to recognise, manage, and prevent vehicle rollovers.
DT Training's Rollover Prevention Training is an online course that takes about an hour. It covers truck stability, loading, cornering, braking and stability technology.
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Why should truck drivers do rollover prevention training?
Rollover prevention training teaches drivers where their truck's limit is before they find it on the road. Rollover prevention isn't part of getting a heavy vehicle licence in New Zealand. A driver can hold a class 2 to 5 licence without ever being taught about truck stability. That matters, because about a third of heavy vehicle crashes in New Zealand involve a rollover (NZ Transport Agency). A rollover can kill or injure the driver and write off the truck and its load.
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Who should do the rollover prevention course?
The rollover prevention course is for new and experienced truck drivers in any country, from light trucks to heavy combination vehicles (class 1 to 5 in New Zealand). It's used by:
- general freight and logistics fleets with rigid trucks, truck and trailers, and B-trains
- tanker fleets carrying fuel, milk, water or chemicals
- livestock carriers
- construction, quarrying and waste fleets running tippers and heavy loads
- farm and machinery operators, such as tractor and mobile crane drivers, who face similar risks
It matters most where drivers work on winding roads or in windy areas.
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What will I learn in the rollover prevention course?
The rollover prevention course covers what makes a truck roll and how to avoid it. Topics include:
- what happens during a rollover, and what it costs
- centre of gravity and how a truck reaches its tipping point
- the nine common causes of rollover crashes
- loading, weight distribution and the static roll threshold (SRT)
- steering, braking and cornering methods that lower the risk
- how tyres and suspension affect stability
- high-risk loads: part-filled tankers, livestock, machinery and containers
- electronic braking systems (EBS) and roll stability systems (RSS)
- an optional module on how health, rest and stress affect driving
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What causes a truck to roll over?
A truck rolls over when the sideways force on it, usually from cornering or a sudden change of direction, becomes greater than the vehicle’s ability to stay upright. The most common causes are taking a corner or roundabout too fast, swerving or changing lanes suddenly, a high or poorly placed load, liquid or livestock moving in the load, a wheel dropping onto a soft shoulder, and strong crosswinds. Trucks with a high centre of gravity, such as tankers, stock trucks and curtainsiders loaded to the roof, are at the greatest risk. The rollover prevention course covers nine common causes and how to avoid each one.
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What is the static roll threshold (SRT) on a truck?
The static roll threshold (SRT) measures how much sideways force a vehicle can take before it starts to roll. It's measured in g. The lower the SRT, the less stable the vehicle. In New Zealand, heavy trucks and trailers covered by the Land Transport Rule: Vehicle Dimensions and Mass 2016 must have an SRT of at least 0.35g. The load height and mass limits that meet this are on the trailer's certificate of loading or SRT compliance certificate. The rollover prevention course explains how to read these limits and load within them.
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Is rollover prevention training a legal requirement in New Zealand?
An employer must give drivers the training they need to work safely. This duty comes from the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 and the Health and Safety at Work (General Risk and Workplace Management) Regulations 2016. A truck on the road is a workplace. Rollover prevention isn't taught for a heavy vehicle licence. So rollover prevention training is a practical way for a business to meet this duty and record it. While it is not specifically required by law, it is one way of complying with the HSWA2015.
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Is the rollover prevention course relevant outside New Zealand?
Yes. The rollover prevention course teaches truck stability, and the physics of a rollover is the same in every country. Centre of gravity, load height, cornering speed and moving loads affect a truck the same way anywhere. The course uses international footage, as well as New Zealand examples, such as the 0.35g static roll threshold rule. Drivers outside New Zealand should also check their own country's load and stability rules.
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Can a company use the rollover prevention course to train several drivers?
Yes. A company buys one rollover prevention course licence per driver, then assigns the course from its dashboard. This ensures that all drivers get the benefit of learning driving techniques that reduce rollover risk, and it generates conversation amongst them.
Managers can track progress, keep training records, download certificates and run reports. These records are useful for audits, clients and health and safety files. You can add more managers at no extra cost, and set-up and support are free.
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What do you get with the rollover prevention course?
Each driver gets a certificate of achievement when they finish the rollover prevention course. There's no practical assessment, so the course doesn't issue an operator's certificate or ID card. The course has ten short video modules, one of them optional, with questions after each module. Managers get training records, progress tracking and reports for every driver.
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What other training goes well with rollover prevention?
Rollover prevention pairs well with our heavy vehicle load security course, because a load that’s poorly placed or restrained is one of the main causes of rollovers. It also complements our driving in difficult conditions course, which covers wind, wet roads and other conditions that reduce a truck’s margin for error.
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How long does the rollover prevention course take?
The rollover prevention course takes around an hour, depending on the trainee. That includes ten short video modules (one of them optional) and the questions. Drivers can do the modules over several days.
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How do I access and use the rollover prevention course?
- There are no prerequisites. Anyone can take this course, with or without a truck licence.
- You will need one course licence per person taking the course - you can't use one licence for multiple drivers.
- You will need a computer, smartphone or tablet with internet access to take the theory training.
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Can I take the rollover prevention course in another language?
The rollover prevention course contains language and literacy support:
- Video subtitles: available in 25 languages. Choose the language in the video.
- Questions: can be viewed in 76 languages. Check the language option at the top of the page.
- Question audio: every question has an audio recording in English.
- Some captions are AI-generated and may have occasional errors.
$69 +GST per person ($79.35)
4 x $17.25
Course provided by TR Driver Training
TR Driver Training is New Zealand's largest training company for heavy vehicle drivers
Course brochure
Course outline, modules and pricing to share with your team or manager
One module is optional and can be disabled by a manager if not required - see below
Training modules
Rollover Prevention
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An overview of the concerning heavy vehicle rollover statistics and the severe human, environmental, and financial consequences of rollover incidents, setting the stage for understanding prevention strategies.5 minutes
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The fundamental physics behind truck rollovers, focusing on how gravity, centrifugal force, centre of gravity, and rollover threshold interact to make heavy vehicles particularly susceptible to rolling compared to other vehicles.5 minutes
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A confronting, moment-by-moment account of what happens during and after a heavy vehicle rollover, from the initial tip to the long-term personal and professional consequences.5 minutes
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The nine distinct scenarios that can cause a heavy vehicle rollover, from environmental factors like wind and soft shoulders to driver actions such as rapid direction changes and cornering techniques, whilst also covering specialised risks for vehicles with lifting capabilities.5 minutes
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The crucial relationship between load placement and rollover risk, explaining how live loads, weight distribution, and Static Roll Threshold certificates affect heavy vehicle stability.5 minutes
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Safe cornering techniques for heavy vehicles, including proper line selection, speed management, and road positioning, whilst explaining how improper technique can lead to trailer swing or rollover incidents.5 minutes
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How tyres and suspension systems work together to prevent rollovers, highlighting the importance of proper maintenance, pressure checks, and how different axle configurations affect vehicle stability.5 minutes
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How different vehicle types and loads present unique rollover risks, from the sloshing effect in partially filled tankers to the challenges of transporting livestock, machinery and containers, whilst emphasising the importance of understanding your specific load's characteristics.5 minutes
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How braking technology has evolved from conventional systems to modern electronic braking systems (EBS) and rollover stability systems (RSS), explaining how these innovations help prevent rollovers.5 minutes
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Your health and how it affects driving Included, but optionalHow a driver's physical and mental wellbeing directly affects rollover prevention, exploring the crucial roles that rest, hydration, nutrition, fitness and stress management play in maintaining optimal driving performance.5 minutes
Rollover Prevention Training
How to reduce your chances of rolling your truck or trailer
$69 +GST per person ($79.35)
4 x $17.25