The recent series of fatal heavy vehicle accidents has the bureaucratic authorities taking the easy option – again
The National Road Freighters Association (NRFA) conducted its 10th anniversary AGM on February 10 in Toowoomba. Previous AGMs were conducted just after the middle of the year and the proper legal requirements had been undertaken to move the date to earlier in the year when it seemed more operators would be able to take advantage of a possible slack work period to attend.
This one was to be different to previous AGMs and even previous industry AGM/conference practices.
I’ve been going to these things for probably better than 35 years. The usual arrangement is that some bureaucrat and occasionally maybe even a politician will be invited along to explain the next lot of regulation being promulgated. Often influential people are invited to tell the great ‘non-intellectuals’ how to suck eggs.
The bureaucracy employed by a particular association deemed it important that the association members be forearmed with knowledge of some new proposal or whatever. In brutal terms, it’s one set of bureaucrats massaging their ego by massaging the ego of another set of bureaucracy and most attendees go home wondering what the warm fuzzy feeling is all about – or maybe just wondering.
The NRFA has set a precedent. The organisation set about inviting interested politicians only so that they could both get an understanding of our concerns and an understanding of the efficiency of the legislation being rammed down the throats of operators.
This NRFA AGM was meant to be bureaucracy-free for the sole purpose to allow attendees total freedom to express concerns regarding industry issues to politicians without causing distress to anyone. But when a prominent bureaucrat offered his attendance, no one in the association had sufficient faith in the integrity of bureaucracy to explain that a board vote had been taken to not invite bureaucracy, which translates into not having an official position at the meeting.
I have to say that while the current AGM was trendsetting and even successful, it lost a lot of its potential to achieve a better understanding by politicians because of the presence of a bureaucrat as an official invitee.
This is not about personalities; it is about achieving outcomes for this industry. I am absolutely convinced there is enough integrity within the bureaucracy to understand that there are times when their absence might be preferred.
If association management is too frightened to refuse an offer of attendance, that brings forward the possibility of corruption and manipulation, or the acceptance of a bad policy owing to the association being too intimidated to voice an objection to the bureaucratic proposal.
Understanding fatigue
It has become more evident to me that bureaucracy has relied too much on advice from so-called experts who have either an axe to grind or are maybe mesmerised by the 40-hour week mentality. Advice needs to be sought and taken from those who have an understanding of the basics of fatigue as it applies to road transport operation.
There has developed an imbalance of input to politicians. Many politicians believe all good information comes from bureaucracy while bureaucracy really only accepts input from experts. And we wonder why we have such dysfunctional and inept regulation being promulgated; hence the push to go crying to politicians.
Fatigue management is one of the major safety issues being worked on presently, and that just has to be for safety expectations.
Safety, the protection of society’s assets, the compatibility to business needs plus a level playing field are all considerations being a feature of the oversize/over mass discussion. In this instance, the level playing field issue has emerged when some industries serviced are granted an approval for ‘X’ metres – length; width, or height – but another segment of the industry is denied.
The need for a level playing field is also the driving force behind the NRFA’s push for the major segment of the registration charge to be sourced via fuel usage.
Again, it is an endeavour to get some justice in these fields that drives the NRFA.
Rolling Thunder
Operation Rolling Thunder – a disgustingly dishonest and an absolute travesty of justice. It is a sad indictment on the veracity of the Roads and Maritime Services and NSW traffic policing.
How many of those five unfortunate souls died through some mechanical failing on a heavy vehicle? There was no attempt to explain the situation of the tragedies. Of course the five fatalities are the tip of the iceberg. The impact radiates from those lost to next of kin, to friends bereaved and on and on.
For those left behind there is no end – maybe a slight dimming over the years if they’re lucky. I know, I still see the headlights at two in the afternoon, the sickening realisation that something terrible is about to happen, the sickening insignificance of the impact when it happened and the soul destroying knowledge that a tragedy has taken place.
No one disputes the enormity of those fatalities but the sad fact is that a like occurrence happens every hour of the day; every day of the week.
The low act perpetrated against this industry by enforcement that was Rolling Thunder has done nothing to rectify or educate against this terrible calamity happening again. And that is one reason why they continue to occur.
One can only believe that it was an abhorrent act to somehow cement the authority of enforcement. How could anyone with a shred of just thinking condone what was done by enforcement?
Five fatalities involving heavy vehicles – were the heavy vehicles the primary cause? Enforcement made no attempt to enlighten us on that aspect. No doubt they will quote some legislation that precludes release of that information.
They found two thousand defects? Again, they couldn’t release the true details of those defects but there was no impediment on using the gross figure in its effort to slander the whole industry.
The NRFA is calling for truth in breach reporting along with unbiased independent research into all heavy vehicle accidents to determine the real cause. Maybe the ‘more money will save lives’ brigade could get behind that push. It might prove their argument has justification – or otherwise.
Money was no consideration in my accident. Money was not a factor in the incident where the bloke had a near death experience on Cunninghams Gap.
I suspect that a full and proper unbiased study into all heavy vehicle accidents will highlight the competency on a driver’s part will come to the fore and most likely not the truck driver. But my assumption has to be proven or disproven. The ability of drivers is the most non-researched aspect of the whole road safety program.
If we are going to go down this ‘more money will fix everything’ persuasion, I’m surprised that someone has not suggested raising the basic wage as a means of stemming the heaven-by-hallucination disease and those attempting to profit via the weakness of others.
Studies into heavy vehicle accidents! Yet again, road enforcement officers have demonstrated so little integrity that any result they posted would be as reliable as the crap now being served up.