OPINION – Come along for a ride

For suit-wearers who’d like to see life through a truck driver’s eyes, the passenger door is open

I am now a month into my sixth week of wearing a sling after shoulder and tendon surgery. It is a bugger sleeping with the sling on. But not only did I miss all of the flooding and detours many of you suffered, I’m not worried about getting tired on the road. Even trying to type is taking me much longer, but I was told if I did not have the surgery, I may not be able to lift my right arm above my shoulder within two years. I need to work a bit longer than that before I might get to retire.

I had an email problem when I got home after surgery and that took hours on the phone and is still not resolved properly. They now want me to pay to fix it, or I will have to sort through nearly 11,000 emails. Not something I am keen on doing at the moment.

I have done some Zoom meetings, one of which was the AGM for the National Road Freighters Association (NRFA). The AGM and conference last year was held in Dubbo, but I was away filming our Sharing The Road With Caravans videos for Whiteline Television at Glendambo, so I could not attend. However, I got the call to say I had been elected vice-president.

With the virus and members covering most states and to meet our statutory requirements, it was decided to do it via Zoom this year and hope to be back to a physical AGM and conference next year. Gordon McKinlay has done a terrific job representing members and was often ideally placed at Albury to be able to attend meetings. Gordon has now stepped down from the president’s role but has agreed to remain on the board and fill in if possible.

So I was elected as president with Trevor Warner as vice-president, plus there are some new and experienced board members filling other roles. Please have a look at www.nrfa.com.au for those names, roles and membership details.

I have been on the board of NRFA for a number of years, often as the only employed driver, among a passionate group of owner-drivers. To me, they are the only truly grassroots group, all on the road seeking both representation and change. We currently have an agreement in place to work with the Transport Workers Union on aims and issues. Sure, not everyone is a fan of unions, but they do look after members who work in depots and have the infrastructure and people to be able to pursue issues that a smaller group simply cannot hope to have.

Riding shotgun

I welcomed the new CEO of the Australian Trucking Association, Andrew McKellar, and have phoned him with an invitation to come along for a ride in the next TruckRight Industry Vehicle. Glenn Sterle has also agreed to do a trip and so, subject to COVID settling down, I may well have a few passengers when I’m back on the road.

I have said many times – if you want change, you have to be involved. I started many years ago with the Australian Road Train Association, as the CEO John Morris was based in Dubbo. At the time John said to me, “You can’t do it all on your own; we will help a bit if we can”. They gave me a spot as driver liaison on their committee and even helped me get to Canberra for the National Inquiry into Road Safety in 2003 where I was the only truck driver to appear after I had put in a written submission before being asked to attend.

The biggest disappointment was that of the 35 recommendations from the inquiry, two were specifically mine, one being the blue reflector marking of informal truck bays. The other, after having been asked by the chair to make a second submission, was regarding the marking of the length of overtaking lanes. I was a party to three other submissions but, even now, the government has never acted on any.

Still we try. Yes, you may well say I do most of my stuff alone, not through want of trying to get support from others, including the TWU, the ATA, NatRoad and others in the past. Each of them has their role and is committed to serving their members, so what I have sought help or support for has not been a focus for them, and that’s fine.

Member power

I won the NatRoad (2000) and then the ATA (2001) Driver of the Year awards and have been nominated for other ATA awards. Ben Maguire, the former ATA CEO, came along for a trip with me in the truck. In addition, both the ATA and NatRoad have, in recent times, been very vocal and strong on the need for more truck rest areas.

But no group can survive or achieve anything without members. While many people may join, it is always a core few that put in much of the effort. The three main groups mentioned above all have lots of members and paid staff, but the NRFA does not. However, it is still growing and I will be blatantly supportive of them. All I ask is that, if you don’t think you can get help with on-road issues elsewhere, please consider joining the NRFA and give them a chance to achieve more.

Well done to Health in Gear getting their website www.healthingear.com.au up and running. There are many useful hints and tips to improve your on-road health. I am one of six ambassadors for them and along with the other five, hope to see you all consider and use this information.

If you know it all, well and good, but even if you pick up one piece of info that helps you, then it has been worth you looking.

*ROD HANNIFEY, a transport safety advocate, has been involved in raising the profile of the industry, conducting highway truck audits, the Blue Reflector Trial for informal parking bays on the Newell, the ‘Truckies on Road Code’, the national 1800 number for road repairs proposal, and the Better Roadside Rest Areas Group. Contact Rod on 0428 120 560, e-mail rod.hannifey@bigpond.com or visit www.truckright.com.au