Continuing the search for more top truckie stops

Goodaye all, Transport for NSW is going to mark 14 additional green reflector bays around NSW. These will be ones that do not need any work to meet the current guidelines. Then they have said they will look at further expanding the network of green reflector bays with those needing small improvements to meet the guidelines for marking. I have been given a list of the first 14 and the chance to comment and I welcome their efforts and look forward to further expansion to give drivers more options.

They have also provided me with some new posters to put up in truck stops and I will be getting them out there for those who may not know about this simple cheap and effective road safety initiative. I just received a Facebook friend request from a driver who made specific comment that the green reflector bays have helped him in the past, whether it be for a kip over the wheel to get to the next formal bay, or simply for a leak. They still work in the daytime and for any reason when you simply need somewhere safe to pull up. I could have used one last night after hitting a roo, but had to use the best bit of shoulder I could find with decent sight distance, to check all was well. Only lost a spotlight cover lens luckily.

I was travelling from Bourke through Cobar towards Melbourne and there were a few more sites that could be marked. I will be chasing them again to suggest more sites for marking. I did stop at Mt Hope and went into the pub for a coffee. I ended up having a good chat with the few patrons there, one a truckie. I gave them a copy of Owner Driver and a green reflector poster and they all shook my hand and thanked me for the chat.

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The publican did say that the toilets there are open 24 hours a day for truckies and travellers and that any truckies who stop in there for a meal have their order put at the front of the order list. They will cook all day and you can ring ahead to have your meal ready — so if you are through that way, give them a try.

Roundtable chat

Last month I did also get to attend the road safety roundtable in Canberra convened by Senator Glenn Sterle. There were 38 attendees from a wide range across the industry and in the end, agreement was reached to set up a small group to work on the immediate issues to take to government, then get back to the wider group before going to the government.

It did really become a transport industry action meeting and to those who have complained that we are still working on the same issues from 20 years ago, if you are clever enough to be able to get seven governments and territories to agree and then action things we need done, please do so now, as many have tried and failed so far. It is not from a lack of trying, it is simply bloody hard to get those who make the decisions, to care about us on the road at all it seems.

Should we be deemed and seen as an essential service? That would certainly help put weight behind the needs and requests we have been putting forward for all those years. Yes, we were essential when everyone ran out of toilet paper during Covid, but how short are people’s memories?

The Prime Minister did drop in and gave a short speech about the importance of the road transport industry, now we need to follow through and get real change achieved. We must keep pressure on all levels, sides and those responsible, to ensure the current HVNL reform does actually achieve change. If it does not, the money time and effort will have been wasted and that cannot be accepted.

We need better training and licensing and education about sharing the road with trucks.

We need programs to ensure those who come into the industry don’t just get a license. But the, of course, most companies want applicants to have two years or more experience. How do you get that without someone giving you a go and then not just letting you loose on the road, but making sure you have the skills you need to do the job safely, professionally and well.

If you do get a start and then, in your first week, get a fine for not marking a box or going five minutes too far to access some facilities, which actually seem to be shrinking rather than growing or improving, then we will lose those new drivers and they will never come back, complaining we did not tell them the truth of the job on the road.

While I have you, I want to thank and recognise the contribution Ken Wilkie has made to the industry. The first edition of Owner Driver had Ken’s input and I don’t think he has missed one since. That’s over 30 years of making the effort to have a say, to take the time to try and see change and improvement for those involved, while all the time working fulltime on the road. Ken is currently battling ill-health and I wish him and his family all the best and thank him personally for his support, having been a mentor, a confidant and for providing his K104 to me for two years to get the TIV concept up and running. Thanks, Ken, for all your efforts, Rod.

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