TWU and drivers suggest alternatives for fatigue funding targets
The Transport Workers Union (TWU) and other quarters of the industry have questioned the federal government’s joint announcement with the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) to fund fatigue-monitoring technology trials.
Transport minister Michael McCormack recently pledged $302,000 towards field trials of SmartCap technology by the Port of Brisbane and the Queensland Trucking Association (QTA) as part of the Heavy Vehicle Safety Around Ports project, while the NHVR also promised a further $250,000 to trial other driver fatigue-monitoring technologies and initiatives, including in-cabin sensors and on-person sensors.
Read more about that NHVR’s Fatigue Safety Forum announcement, here
In a written statement to Owner//Driver, national secretary Michael Kaine commends efforts to tackle the problem but says the solution is off the mark and doesn’t address causes of fatigue.
“It is a pity the federal government is acknowledging the problem of fatigue among truck drivers but refusing to back a meaningful solution to the problem,” he says.
“Technology is already being used in many trucks to monitor fatigue and other risks to safety.
“But technology is only detecting the symptoms of the problem.
“It is not tackling the root causes of fatigue.”
Kaine points towards financial pressure as a root cause not receiving adequate attention.
“We know that drivers are being forced to drive long hours while fatigued and to skip their rest breaks,” he says.
“We know this pressure is coming from the low-cost contracts that wealthy clients dictate which force transport operators and drivers to subsist on tight margins.”
“There are decades of research showing the link between financial pressure on trucking companies and drivers and the factors such as fatigue that cause truck crashes.
“The National Transport Commission’s report, Remuneration and Safety in the Australian Heavy Vehicle Industry, states: ‘There is solid survey evidence linking payment levels and systems to crashes, speeding, driving while fatigued and drug use.’ “
The TWU national secretary also criticised the ports aspect of the trials, given the current malaise surrounding stevedore impost decisions.
“It is highly disappointing that the project being announced is to be conducted at the ports given the road safety watchdog which the Federal Government tore down in April 2016 was investigating pressure and risks to safety in this sector,” he says.
“Transport at our ports is under extreme pressure from stevedores at the top of the supply chain. This is being demonstrated at the moment through the reckless money gouging by stevedores in their continual increasing of fees on transport operators.
“Instead of pouring more money into finding out ways of detecting fatigue at our ports, the Federal Government should hold stevedores to account for the financial squeeze they are placing on transport companies and drivers which is leading directly to fatigue. Only by doing this can the Federal Government tackle the risks to safety in trucking.”