You might not know what it means, but this green sticker could save your life

You just need to know when to use them.

No matter how long you’ve been driving for, it seems there’s always a rule or two you may be unaware of.

One of these little known rules is particularly important leading up to the summer holiday period, and could even save your life on a long drive.

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Image: Facebook.

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“All road users can use them!”

Queensland MP Colin Boyce has taken to Facebook to share some information about the little green stickers you might see along an Aussie highway.

“With the holiday period fast approaching, I wanted to remind residents about green reflectors,” he shared on Facebook.

“You may have noticed some green reflectors on guide posts beside the road on some highways. These indicate that there is a safe place to pull off the road coming up soon so you can indicate your intentions early and be prepared.

“Approximately 500 metres from a safe place to pull over you may see 3 x Green reflectors, 250 metres you may see 2 x Green reflectors and just at the safe place you may see 1 x Green reflectors.

“The idea is from road safety advocate and B double truck driver Rod Hannifey, alerting drivers that there is a safe place to pull off the road coming up.

“While the idea was originally intended for long haul truck drivers, all road users can use them.”

These stickers, though not overly common, can be found sprinkled all over the country, and are called 3-2-1- Green Reflectors.

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But how exclusive are they?

Many commenters on the post were grateful to Colin for sharing the rule, that very few seemed to know about.

“One of the world's best kept secrets! Thanks,” one commenter said.

“Fantastic. Road shoulders are generally soft and narrow so an indication of a safe spot is a great idea. My eyes are peeled!” added another.

“I never knew that, thank you for letting us know,” said another.

“I’ve never heard of it & been driving for 30+ years. It’s a great idea!” a fourth added.

But, others weren’t so happy to see someone sharing it, with one commenter saying they “just only hope people use them appropriately”.

In response to one particular commenter saying they’d use it to pull over and feed their child, truck drivers took the opportunity to clarify that whilst they can be used by everyone, the 3-2-1- Green Reflectors were created with truck drivers in mind, and should be saved for them where possible.

“They are not there to pull over and park and feed a baby though. They are only for cars to let other faster drivers past for a short moment. Or an emergency/car issue etc.” one said.

“The truck drivers are the only ones they want to use them to stop for a longer period of time so they can nap and have a break.”

Another agreed with the sentiment, though adding that particularly for caravanning, they can truly be life savers.

“Had read about these on caravan and trucking sites, we have used them on our last couple of trips to pullover into to let traffic behind us pass when we're still a distance from a town,” they said.

“We never stop in them as they're designed for truckies to have a break. The discs are great to see there's a safe place ahead so everyone has notice we're pulling over, it makes it safe for all road users.”

Originally published as You might not know what it means, but this green sticker could save your life