Truck-related accidents and fatalities have been ongoing since the dawn of the industry, and we need to do everything possible to reduce them. Supply chain pressures we’ve often talked about are a key component in this, due to the pressure from above to meet deadlines and the industry’s using of the new laws to start working on those issues.
Improving training standards could also have a role to play in making the industry better.
When it comes to truck incidents, fatalities only tell part of the story, as you can imagine how many other accidents there are, not to mention near-misses, many of which I’ve seen in my time on the road.
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I’d also like to add that before anyone starts jumping up and down and pointing the finger at one particular community, poor training happens everywhere from what I’ve seen, and it’s part of the bigger problem of having to cut corners when you don’t have enough money coming in to cover proper training. There really is a mix of backgrounds when it comes to both the make-up of the truck driver community and the characters involved in accidents. These things are systemic or structural in nature and just like supply chain issues, any incidents that are inherently related to training quality are also bigger than the individual driver – even if it’s the driver that always gets blamed.
Given how long trucks have been on roads and the amount of driving knowledge we should have collectively banked up over time, it’s unfortunate that so many truck-related accidents continue to occur. It can’t hurt to take a look at skills training for truck drivers to see if improvements can be made to the way they are taught to respond to situations that can prevent accidents and, in worst-case scenarios, fatalities. Proper training needs to carried out by adequately trained instructors that follow strict, well-planned guidelines. It can’t just be a “ticking the box” exercise.
The training process needs to ensure that when truck drivers walk out of training, they’re adequately upskilled to handle just about any on-road issue that comes their way. This isn’t a dig at my fellow truck drivers. Just like any industry where a life is on the line, we want to cover our bases and ensure that training standards are high enough to ensure both drivers and other road users return home to their loved ones at the end of the day. That means operators and drivers need to be getting enough in their contracts to cover appropriate training.
I wonder if there needs to not only be stricter training standards, but also standardisation across the states to ensure a driver trained in Queensland is just as skilled as one from Western Australia. The powers that be should ensure that there are no variations from one state to another. The training that trainers undergo should also be uniform – after all, they’re the ones who we’re entrusting with providing our fellow truck drivers the knowledge to use their trucks and our roads safely and effectively.
There should also be greater transparency around the training of examiners and how they get assessed on their competency to assess new drivers. Truck drivers like myself should have some knowledge of how the people carrying out the training become qualified, not just for the sake of the drivers, but their colleagues in the trucking fraternity.
Not only is this about safety on the road, this profession is one that’s struggling to get people into it – and the number of drivers needed is only increasing. We need decent training pathways so that younger people actually want to come into this industry. And we need them to be able to get decent pay and conditions along the way. That’s why we have to come at this from all possible angles.
Safe driving should be lauded and celebrated. It’s something that perhaps we as a society take for granted, but in my opinion, it should be at the forefront of driver training culture. With the industry already beset with supply chain pressures, ensuring driver training is up-to-scratch can only help make our industry safer. Your fellow truck drivers, including myself, should feel confident that if we share the road with you, we’re going to be able to come back to our loved ones. That’s what matters.
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