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Sep 11, 2017

Truckers' cheers * Australia ... " They would give you their last $5 to help you" ...

* NSW - Telling it straight from heart


--- Truckies speaks to about what they perceive as problems in the road transport industry. Some are owner-drivers or small fleet operators who have a wife as a partner... The wife of a NSW owner-driver sent Spy her emotional view of the road transport industry and how it is all going according to her: "The Government needs to realise that Australia revolves and relies on the trucking industry and the RMS require them to have regular breaks so why is there not more being done to assist the drivers with their fatigue management? Authorities are happy to demand drivers have breaks but they are not equally happy to provide adequate facilities for our long distance truckies, and unfortunately some of the roadhouses which are available to them along the highways are providing not always good food and are charging a fortune and the majority of them close their kitchen around 8.30-9.30pm at night and don't re-open them until 6am. So what happens to the majority of truckies who can't pull up and eat before that time. It's not fair that we treat truckies like second class citizens and it needs to change. They keep this country going. What a shame. Maybe if every truckie stopped rolling for a week people might realise where their milk and bread etc comes from as it doesn't just magically appear on their supermarket shelf. Believe me it hard being a truckie's missus even though some people think they are scum but they are the most loveable people in the world. I suppose it comes from doing a rubbish job and being treated like you are an idiot. All of our mates would give you their last $5 from their wallet if they had to help you out and wouldn't it be nice if the whole world was like that” ... (P.N.: Exciting not?)
(Picture: Discovery Max, a new documentary series about trucks, and the toughest truckers)   --  Sidney, NSW, Australia - Big Rigs - 11th Sep 2017

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Truckies speeding & running red lights * Australia: Police observe "it's not trucks, it's cars"

* Victoria - Councillor accuses truckies of speeding & running red lights

--- A Cranbourne Councillor Cr Amanda Stapledon, has singled out truck drivers accusing them of speeding and running red lights "Like crazy"... She alleges had both heard concerns from the community and saw truck drivers race through red lights in the city south of Melbourne first hand... In response the Casey Highway Patrol Sergeant Pat McGavigan told the community paper the it was often cars that were the problem... "Everyone runs red lights. South Gippsland Highway and Sladen St is a black spot ... but it's people failing to give way when they are turning rather than running red lights and it's not trucks, it's cars"... 
(Picture by Jason Sammon Trucks along High St, Cranbourne as seen from the Sladen St intersection) -- Melbourne, VIS, Australia - Big Rigs, by Kirstin Payne - 8th Sep 2017

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Jul 19, 2017

TRUCKS SAFETY SYSTEM * Australia: Rules and regulations

* ACT - Auto braking mandate push

--- The digital tides have turned and the inevitability of more technology on the road seems to be clear... In the latest chapter of automation, moves are being made by both industry bodies and federal politicians to mandate automatic emergency braking systems in both personal and commercial vehicles... The South Australian Federal Senator Alex Gallacher, said the mandate should include all regular and heavy vehicles with imported parts that are assembled in Australia... The Australian Government is expected to release a regulatory impact statement for the AEBS mandate in coming months... 
Canberra, ACT, Australia - Big Rigs - 17th Jul 201

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VIRAL HACK TO SPEED CAMERAS * Australia

* Victoria - Speed cameras OK after viral hack

--- Victorian speed cameras have been deemed unaffected following a ransomware attack, which forced the government to freeze all speeding fines issued from the beginning of June... The determination was made in an interim report into the cause of the malicious software, and the impact on fixed road safety cameras, released by Road Safety Camera Commissioner John Voyage... The investigation was hampered by the fact that the crashed systems were not themselves infected by the virus and displayed no symptoms other than random failures... It was widely reported the system had been infected during a routine service by an independent camera tester who inserted the infected USB stick into on-site cameras on June 6... 
(Photo by Warren Lynam - HACKED: Speed cameras also run the risk of hacking)  --  Australia - Big Rigs, by Kirstin Payne - 7th Jul 2017

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Jul 17, 2017

TRUCK ACCIDENTS * Australia: Only 7% of fatal multi-vehicle crashes are the fault of the heavy vehicle

* ACT - Latest NTI truck crash statistics

--- Trucking Australia delegates were one of the first forums to be offered a preview of the NTI National Truck Accident Research Centre (NTI NTARC) sample crash statistics... Sample crash statistics from NTI’s 2017 crash report, which is due for release in August this year, show that in 93% of major multi-vehicle crash fatalities, the lighter vehicle is at fault - a rise of 9% since the 2015 report... Only 7% of fatal multi-vehicle crashes are the fault of the heavy vehicle... The biennial report provides essential understanding of crash causes and trends within the transport industry... 
Other key findings include: 
° In non-fatal multi-vehicle collisions – the heavy vehicle was found at fault 60% of the time 
° Fatigue related truck crash rates are the worst since 2007 at 12.2% 
° Non-impact fire losses remain a concern at 7.9% 
(Photo from ABC News: Trucks crash on Bruce Highway)  --  Canberra, ACT, Australia - ATA Friday facts - 14 July 2017

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Jul 13, 2017

TRUCKS WITH MAJOR DEFECTS * Australia: By Australian Heavy Vehicle Repairs Association

* NSW - Repair group calls for Heavy Vehicle written off register


--- Hundreds of truck drivers run the risk of purchasing and driving vehicles with major defects, according to Australian Heavy Vehicle Repairs Association Chairman Richard Nathan... For over seven years Richard, along with a number of other industry groups, have lead the charge for a Written Off Vehicle Register (WOVR) for Heavy Vehicles to protect drivers from unknowingly operating vehicles with hidden and possibly deadly problems... Unlike passenger vehicles, heavy vehicle owners, in a majority of states, have no way of tracing the history of their vehicle or past damage... The NHVR confirmed they will be supporting the move with NSW Roads and Maritime Services taking the lead... 
(Photo by Kirstin Payne - A Heavy vehicle damaged on impact) -- Sydney, NSW, Australia - Big Rigs, by Kirstin Payne - 3rd Jul 2017

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TRUCKS BRAKE testing transition * Australia - Extended until September 29

* NSW - Roller brake testing transition extended

--- The NHVR and NSW Road and Maritime Services have agreed to extend the current brake testing transition arrangements in NSW until September 29, 2017... During the transition period in NSW heavy vehicles that achieved a brake test result greater than 3kN/t, but less than 4.4kN/t will be given an official warning on first time detection... The current transition period was due to end on June 30... 
(Photo: The NSW roller brake testing transition deadline has been extended)   --   Sydney, NSW, Australia - Big Rigs - 30th Jun 2017

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NEW DEFECT NOTICE * Australia: From the NHVR, for all trucks

* Canberra - Self-clearing defect notice introduced

--- The NHVR will introduce a new self-clearing defect notice for heavy vehicle defects that do not pose a safety risk. NHVR CEO Sal Petroccitto said the new category of defect notice would be available from July 1 as part of changes to the Heavy Vehicle National Law. Examples of defects which may result in the issuing of a self-clearing defect notice include a cracked light lens, obscured number plate or a failed brake light where all others are working. Failing to rectify the defects listed in a self-clearing defect notice within 28 days can result in fines of up to $3000... 
 (Photo by Chris Ison - NHVR introduces new notice to improve self-clearing defects)   --  Canberra, ACT, Australia - Big Rigs - 29th Jun 2017

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Jun 26, 2017

UBER TROUBLES * Australia - The "facilitator” may be considered an employer

* NSW - Apps may be link in chain of responsibility

--- Chain of Responsibility Laws could also extend as far as ride share giant Uber, which last month launched its flagship logistics app, Uber Freight, in North America... Aussie-owned Channel 40 reported more than 2000 registered and active truck users... However the problem of ambiguous definitions in a digital world that faced the taxi industry could also face heavy vehicle enforcement agencies when it comes to legislating the role these apps play in the Chain of Responsibility... Depending upon the employment relationship, the "facilitator” may be considered an employer, which may prove to be an interesting legal debate to be had in the near future... 
Sydney, NSW, Australia - Big Rigs - 21st Jun 2017

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May 26, 2017

TRUCKERS' MENTAL HEALTH * Australia: Union addresses

* Canberra - Union addresses black dog in trucking 

--- We know that according to research 22 per cent of truck drivers experience mental health issues, but we also know that 91 per cent of drivers that experience symptoms aren’t receiving treatment... The Transport Workers’ Union (TWU) has directed their focus to addressing mental health issues across the transport industry by providing training to delegates and organisers within the union, as well as partnering with beyondblue to drive awareness... Ultimately, the goal is to move towards engagement of employers and clients on developing workplace policies on mental health, the Union says... Truckie and mental health awareness advocate Tracee Pearse says the prevalence of mental health among truck drivers is high and says drivers need to manage their mental health effectively... 
(Image from shutterstock.com - Licensing authorities place the onus on drivers to report any medical conditions that might affect their driving)   --  Canberra, ACT, Australia -- Owner Driver - 23 May 2017

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SPEED LIMITS FOR TRUCKS * Australia: Association said "would not work well"

* Victoria - Monash Freeway truck speed limits dumped after tailgating and weaving increases

--- Speed limits to slow trucks on the Monash Freeway –introduced by Roads Minister Luke Donnellan​ to increase safety– have been dumped after VicRoads said they had made traffic conditions worse and increased aggression between car and freight drivers... The trial had encouraged tailgating and led to cars weaving, VicRoads found... But after six months, VicRoads called off the trial after an independent evaluation found it was causing problems, particularly between car drivers and trucks... Mr Donnellan said a second stage of the speed trial on the Monash, banning trucks from the right lane, would commence later this year... Peter Anderson, chief executive of trucking group the Victorian Transport Association, said the trial had been worth trying... But his association had always believed different speed limits for trucks and cars would not work well... 
(Photo, by Joe Armao: Heavy traffic on the Monash Freeway)  --  Melbourne, VIC, Australia - The Age, by Clay Lucas - May 22 2017

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May 23, 2017

TRUCKS FINED * Australia: If avoid the toll-road by running on the surface roads

* NSW - Transurban to get paid if trucks use NorthConnex motorway, and if they don't

--- The private operator of Sydney's NorthConnex motorway below Pennant Hills Road will receive compensation from the government if too few trucks use the tunnel. But the government will not say how many trucks are required to use the NorthConnex tunnel before compensation will be paid, nor how much toll-road company Transurban might receive in compensation... The operator of NorthConnex will be paid compensation if not enough trucks use the 9 kilometre motorway... The fines will help ensure trucks do not use local roads, but will also ensure an income for Transurban, which is contributing the lion's share of funds required to build the $3 billion road... 
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia - The Syden Morning Herald, Jacob Saulwick - MAY 21 2017

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May 20, 2017

AIR CONTAMINATION * Australia: Cars 82% & Trucks 12%

* ACT - ATA submission on review of climate change policies 

--- Australia’s climate change policies should include a focus on boosting truck productivity as a cost effective opportunity to reduce emissions from heavy vehicles. This should include increasing width and length requirements, a whole of government approach to reducing barriers to increased use of high productivity freight vehicles, and for improving road access... Increased heavy vehicle productivity can optimise the energy and fuel use of the entire freight system by reducing the number of trips required to move the freight task... It is also important that vehicles receive regular maintenance, which is key to ensuring that vehicles continue to meet emission standards... The review acknowledges that the transport sector was responsible for 18 per cent of Australia’s emissions in 2015, with over three quarters attributable to cars and light commercial vehicles... 
Canberra, ACT, Australia - ATA news - 19 May 2017

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May 7, 2017

TRUCKING COMPLAINTS * Australia: ATA call for Government neutrality policy

* ACT - Equal concessions for all says ATA

--- Australian Trucking Association Chair, Geoff Crouch, has called for a level playing field between the National Heavy Vehicle Accreditation Scheme (NHVAS) and TruckSafe... (TruckSafe is an industry-based quality assurance program. These days TruckSafe is a company wholly owned by the Australian Trucking Association (ATA), which constantly invests a considerable amount of time, effort and finances in order to represent a united voice for the transport industry when dealing with various government bodies)... The industry body has suggested in their latest submission into the review of the Australian Government's competitive neutrality policy, that the NHVAS holds a net competitive advantage as a result of its public ownership... Despite TruckSafe's additional safety and best practice requirements which include rigorous audit approaches and independent panels; regulatory concessions available to NHVAS accredited operators that are not available to TruckSafe accredited operators... "They've said that government businesses should not enjoy a net competitive advantage, regulatory frameworks should not restrict competition, and that in providing services government policy should encourage a diversity of providers"... 
Canberra, ACT, Australia - Big Rigs - 5th May 2017

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May 5, 2017

ADVENTURE ON TRUCKS, through * AUSTRALIA

* NSW - Truckin' adventure around Australia

 (My Job, Melbourne toTarcutta #1 - Australian Trucker Rod - Nov 20, 2016: I am an Aussie truck driver This is a video of my job, driving From Melbourne Vic. to Tarcutta N.S.W and Return. It's currently wet season here at the moment, and unfortunately I got caught in a massive downpour, hence the lens being a touch steamy) 

 --- Lindsey Cole seeks adventure on the open road by travelling her way around Australia with truck drivers ... There is no roadhouse too cold, B-double to loud or highway too long for British adventurer ... A wild-at-heart backpacker, Lindsey has spent the last few months criss-crossing this great brown land with the help of the trucking community, learning the ins and outs of the trade and coming to terms with the day in the life of the average truckie...

(Photo: Backpacker Lindsey Cole behind the wheel of a big rig) 

 ... After taking on a 16,000km walk along the barrier, meeting many locals along the way, the 34-year-old became hungry for more... Finally with a chance to fulfil her 10-year dream of circumnavigating the continent, Lindsey decided not only to take in the best of Australia but to also take the time to understand some of the people that keep the country moving... Like most visitors to the land down under, the intrepid explorer has been struck by the landscape... After spending so much time on the road, Lindsey learnt to avoid most of the deep-fried gems found at roadhouses... Looking at the road ahead, Lindsey is calling for any drivers headed north to Darwin to finish her trip... Follow Lindsey's adventure on her Facebook page, Lindsey Cole Truck Tales.
 Byron Bay, NSW, Australia - Big Rigs, by Kirstin Payne - 4th May 2017

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May 2, 2017

A DESERT TRUCK TRIP * Australia - Related from a pub veranda

* South Australia - A truck trip through the S.A. desert


(Picture: Dropping the dust of the Strzelecki, a kilometre out of town)

 --- Sitting on the pub veranda, you watch the trucks come in. Dusty and battered from the desert, hundred kilometres of corrugated stony and sandy roads but travelling lighter, heading home empty... Other trucks weighed down with heavy payloads pull out of the graded pad and head out the Strez into the desert, taking another load to oil and gas camps, exploration rigs and some through to the far north-west town of Innamincka on Cooper Creek... They put on a half-decent feed at the Lyndhurst Pub and the beer is cold. This is the southern end of the Strzelecki Track. The pub is a kilometre up the track from the small town, where the dusty track joins the Oodnadatta track, a ribbon of bitumen south to Adelaide or northwards, following the old, long disused, Ghan Railway through Marree and Oodnadatta up over the Territory border through Finke to Alice Springs. The old Ghan Railway ceased to run in the 1980s... The slow plodding of the camel trains may have been replaced by the rumble of high horsepower diesel engines, but this remote silent place still today has that feel where the closeness of the various forms of old time transport, camels, railway and the early trucks are not so distant from the big modern jiggers rolling into town, a sense of achievement to successfully return to the bitumen...


Picture: A cold beer to settle the dust, watch the sun set over the Strzelecki, and a good feed at the Lyndhurst Pub

... The sun has set, and the desert wind starting to chill on the Lyndhurst Pub veranda. Time to stand, stretch an aching back and head inside to grab another beer and order a steak...
Lyndhurst, South Australia, Australia - Big Rigs - 28 April 2017

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Apr 21, 2017

GRAIN TRANSPORT * Australia - Trialing bigger trucks for

* NSW - Trucking industry is keen to try a WA trial to allow bigger trucks onto small back roads


--- The NSW bulk freight industry is eyeing a West Australian “last mile” access trial, which allowed bigger vehicles to use roads previously off limits... Western Australia’s harvest mass management scheme allows a 10 per cent mass variation for the transport of grain from farm to a registered ­receival operator. This allows for the difficulty caused by the natural variation of grain density when trucks are loaded on farm... WA Farmers grains president, Duncan Young, said the group were involved with helping set up the trial and were supportive of it because it ­allowed farmers to be able get bigger trucks on roads they were previously denied and this was good for productivity... Young added, the harvest mass management scheme, now almost a decade old, had been a big success... 
(Photo: Load it up. The NSW freight industry is hoping a WA scheme will be adopted to boost productivity)  --  Sidney, New South Wales, Australia - The Weekly Times, by GABRIELLE JOHNSTON and EMMA FIELD - April 19, 2017

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Apr 5, 2017

TRUCKING & INFRASTRUCTURE FUNDS * Australia: Discussions

* Victoria - Pallas says trucking in not paying its way on infrastructure


--- Tim Pallas, Victorian treasurer, has taken an opposite view to the industry on the cost burden. Pallas has rejected the trucking industry’s position that it overcompensates for the use and building of road infrastructure... The assertion comes as the nation’s highest-profile industry figure and Pallas have taken to mainstream media over the state government’s truck-centric tolling strategy... In an ongoing argument over toll increases of up to 125 per cent on Melbourne’s Transurban-run CityLink route, Linfox founder Lindsay Fox, argues "residential streets should remain residential" and not be subject to truck traffic, but this must be supported by upgrades to Victorian infrastructure... 
(Photo: Infrastructures in Victoria, Australia) -- Melbourne, VIC, Australia - ATN - 3 April 2017
* Victoria - Pledge for local truck bans with West Gate Tunnel
--- Industry says advice ignored as Victorian government forces more costs on operators, about its newly named West Gate Tunnel Project, the former Western Distributor, the trucking industry digested more cost increases and the crimping of its ability to transport goods in Melbourne... The carrot of twin tunnels between the Westgate Freeway’s western West Gate Bridge approaches and the Port of Melbourne has been accompanied by the sticks of new forced tolls and the permanent banning of routes through Footscray... It has not gone down well with Victorian Transport Association (VTA), which notes the industry is "already under financial attack from disproportionate CityLink toll increases, higher registration and user charges and razor thin operating margins", while Container Transport Alliance Australia (CTAA) is calling for a ‘fair go’ on toll pricing for the link... 

(Photo: West Gate Tunnel Project announcement has left the industry deeply concerned)  --   Melbourne, VIC, Australia - ATN - 3 April 2017

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Apr 1, 2017

WEATHER TROUBLES * Australia: Cyclone, flood water, etc.

* NSW - Pacific Highway cut by flood water

--- Flood waters have blocked the Pacific Highway in both directions at South Grafton... The remnants of Tropical Cyclone Debbie have moved south, severely impacting on a number of roads in Northern NSW... Light vehicles on the cut off highway route are being diverted to Centenary Drive to rejoin pacific highway... According to NSW traffic heavy vehicles are still being allowed through the flooded area at this stage, however conditions are constantly being monitored... 
(Photo - WATCH OUT: Flooding on major roads has been reported in Northern NSW) -- South Grafton, NSW, Australia - Big Rigs, by Barry Longland - 30th Mar 2017

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Mar 28, 2017

"Car drivers need better skills" * Australia: Says TRUCKING ASSOCIATION

* ACT - In 80% of truck smashes, cars are either directly responsible for the crash

--- While much of the focus of heavy vehicle crashes automatically falls on the truck and the truck driver, the Australian Trucking Association (ATA) says more often than not car drivers are the cause... The ATA has today called for a rethink on heavy vehicle driver training, but the association also wants governments to put more focus on training car drivers on how to better share the roads with heavy vehicles... Statistics have shown that in more than 80% of truck smashes, cars are either directly responsible for the crash, or have contributed to the incident... ATA Chair, Noelene Watson, tells us it only makes sense then that car driver education also become a priority: “Despite the statistics, educating light vehicle (car) drivers about how to share the road safely with trucks has only received sporadic policy attention... 
Canberra, ACT, Australia - Behind the wheel, by Joel Helmes - March 27, 2017

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