For the past 16 years Mr Hannifey has been spreading his safety tips far and wide, as well as campaigning for roadside reflectors to alert trucks about upcoming rest stops. Now, he's been nominated as a finalist in the 3M- Australasian College of Road Safety (ACRS) Diamond Road Safety Award.

According to ACRS, the award is the ultimate road safety achievement for the region's most innovative, cost-effective road safety initiative which stands out from the standard, everyday practice and delivers significant improvements in road safety for the community.

Mr Hannifey began promoting truck safety in 1999.

"One Christmas I was driving along and [drivers of] trucks were bagging out the caravaners and I thought 'who's teaching them?'," he said.

The second incident was when Mr Hannifey was overtaken by a reckless driver with another truck coming the opposite way.

After yet another near accident driving over a narrow bridge, Mr Hannifey decided to do something.

"I sat down and thought 'what can I do about this?' and I've been involved with road safety ever since," he said.

"If I can make enough difference to save one life, everything else is a bonus."

His four main aims are to improve roads and safety, increase driver education, raise industry awareness and establish better rest areas.

"It's really hard to educate people. If there's one bad copper, people think 'well, they still arrest murders and rapists', but if there's one bad truck driver, it makes everyone think we're all bad."

More information about Mr Hannifey and his road safety mission can be found at his website www.truckright.com.au.