Truck ban forces livestock transport drivers to decouple vehicles away from purpose-built facilities.
Livestock carriers in southern Queensland are urging authorities to allow type-two road trains (triple combinations) access to the Roma stockyards.
They say the current ban on longer vehicles within the town limits has forced drivers to stop and rearrange trailers in nearby Butcher’s Hill, increasing the risks to both drivers and livestock.
One driver was killed last month while recoupling a trailer at the makeshift site.
Livestock and Rural Transporters Association of Queensland (LRTAQ) president David Scott says the on-road risk of larger vehicles is minimal compared with the risks of manipulating trailers away from purpose-built locations.
“You have the best possible facilities just a few kilometres away [at the saleyards],” Scott says.
Instead, drivers are rearranging their cargo without sufficient lighting or slip protection.
Making multiple trips between the saleyards and breakdown pads also means leaving valuable livestock unattended and exposed to the elements for up to an hour at a time, Scott adds.