Goodaye all and a ‘trucking’ Good New Year to you for 2025. This could hurt, but it is intended as positive feedback, not just a whinge. This is my submission to the NTC Fines and Penalties review. It was already done and decided, but they have “consulted” with us? There is still so much wrong, but yes, if you look hard, you might see a glint of possibility, but you will have to look real hard and keep your rose-coloured glasses firmly fixed while having your fingers crossed behind your back.
I have two questions to start with and will then comment generally on where I feel we are at, following far too long for the current review process. Can you please tell me what the HVNL review has cost and do you believe we have received good value and significant change for the time, money and effort involved?
As a driver, I was one of the few who took the time and made the effort to respond to the long and drawn-out documents seeking feedback towards the review. I recognise that had many more drivers contributed, you may have seen the passion, need and years of pain from them. Many hours of my time were spent genuinely seeking real and significant change to laws that were all too often onerous and severe and way above what other road infringements incur.
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What we have received is the withdrawal of three fines, barely touching the real problems. Yes, there may be 21 reductions in penalties, but there are also 50 increases included and yet another substantial fine provided for driving while unfit – who will decide that? The NHVR has been visible and vocal with its intent to educate, inform and enforce, but the police have not! Fines issued by the NHVR can and will be reviewed by them, but any issued by police and the state revenue collections office, even when specific to the HVNL, will not be!
So, has the review really made a difference? From where I sit, no. We asked for some flexibility, recognition of the lack of rest areas, guidance on where we manage our fatigue and for the fulfiment of our need for the fines and penalties to better reflect the real road safety intent. It is often said by drivers that we are the only group fined for overtime – others actually get paid more. With the current logbook requirement to round up work and round down rest time, you can do less than your hours and yet still be fined for exceeding them, which is why we wanted a fair go for fines.
Yes, you have dropped the minor level, but how do our fines relate to other driving offences? They are exorbitant and can put drivers into a position of both physical and financial stress – do we really need that on top of the lousy roads and untrained motorists who risk our lives and theirs everyday while not enough is being done to teach them to share the road with trucks?
I recognise the issues with trying to get all the states and territories to agree, but I feel the police and others have held far too much sway. It seems they think we will all work 28-hour days eight days a week if you give us anywhere near a fair go for the job we live and the family lives we give up to deliver everything to everyone.
Fines for deliberate acts are there to educate people and try to improve road safety, yet our fines can be for simple mistakes or not ticking a box. I fought for the separation of offences, from one group to two – fatigue and clerical – yet again, some police will argue what offences fall into what category.
Then there is the lack of fairness in seeking a review. Many police are not trained fully to understand the HVNL – most drivers struggle to understand every single part of it, yet they will write a ticket and if you disagree, most often we are told “if you don’t like it, take it to court”. This is not fair justice when you take into account that we travel across states and the time and effort to appear can mean a large cost, even before getting the chance to have your say.
If you have not, from my point of view, given us real change, will you help support some fairness in court? Any ticket issued by police under the HVNL should be able to be reviewed by the NHVR as the body responsible for that law, not simply told to take it to court. That is not justice when the person giving the ticket may not understand the law themselves.
Many times I have been told of a mistake in a ticket written by police and when we then seek its withdrawal, we are told “yes, there was a mistake, but the ticket will simply be rewritten”, so they can make a mistake and simply rewrite it with no penalty or even an apology – we just get the fine still.
From where I sit, holding the steering wheel, the review has not provided real change, the review of the fines and penalties have not changed how we are treated and drivers will still be subject to large penalties for some things, many of which are out of their control and that often have little to do with road safety. I and many others are very frustrated at the time, cost and lack of change, so do you have anything positive for the future, or are we stuck with this failure into the future?
I do recognise some of the possibly most important changes you did win are behind the scenes and could lead to more change in the future, but for now, for drivers, most believe this has failed them. Safe Travelling, Rod Hannifey.
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