If these cyclists think they'll actually get to drive a big truck around for a while, they're sadly mistaken.

The closest they will come is down on hands and knees, pushing a toy truck around a Mt Eden carpark and making engine noises in their head.

Brrrm, brrrm...

But they signed up for this 'Share the Road' workshop, because these giant vehicles pose their biggest threat, as they negotiate inner-city traffic each day.

"It's pretty scary at times, particularly when they pass close," reflects Brendan Boreham of Onehunga.

Eighteen riders died in New Zealand last year, with more than 2000 others making ACC claims on non-fatal injuries.

As cyclists and motorists draw battle-lines on the country's roads, the Cycle Action Network has devised a programme to bring the antagonists closer together - not in a bad way.

Last month, Newshub attended a workshop that put truck drivers on bikes for a different perspective on the stand-off.

Now, it's the riders' turn to step outside their comfort zone and into the "blind zone".

"The aim of these workshops is to enable cyclists to be safe around heavy vehicles," says Share the Road campaign manager Richard Barter.

"To do that, they need to understand what drivers can see and what they can't see - when they're on the road with a heavy vehicle, where they should be and shouldn't be.

"They also need to understand how a truck turns and moves, so they can be in the right place to avoid a crash."

Convincing cyclists that they need to know this stuff is the first challenge. While the truckies-on-bikes are essentially told to participate by their employers, bikies are more of a law unto themselves, which is part of the wider problem.

"Cyclists are like wheeled pedestrians," agrees Mr Barter. "There's a sense of 'everybody walks' and that flows into cycling - the idea of someone telling us what to do is a significant barrier.

"At the same time, a lot of people don't ride because they are scared of interacting with other motor vehicles on the road, so understanding what happens out there is one way of breaking down those barriers."

Most attending this particular workshop are cycle instructors, who conduct community-based courses around Auckland.