When I’ve talked about the underlying causes of accidents and fatalities in the trucking industry in this column, we have – quite rightly – focused on the top of the supply chain and the amount of money that trickles down to keep us truck operators safe on the road. People at the top paying their fair share means more money to cover essential truck maintenance and less dangerous practices rushing from pick up to drop off at record pace to ensure we stay economically viable.
When we’re out on the open road, our immediate concern when it comes to accidents, irrespective of the root cause, is driver fatigue. The Closing Loopholes laws will change the game when it comes to those root causes. They’re working hand in hand with rest area initiatives to tackle driver fatigue head on — all part of reducing the truck-related road toll.
This is why we should be very pleased that six new projects have been named as part of the Heavy Vehicle Rest Area initiative, which in itself is part of a joint $17.4 million investment between federal, state and local governments.
After Senator Glenn Sterle’s inquiry into the trucking industry, it became clearer than ever how much work some of these rest stops need. Most of these investments involve vitally important maintenance to keep these facilities up to standard. Overall, this is part of $140 million in funding over 10 years for the construction of new and upgraded heavy vehicle rest areas.
In Maranoa Shire Council in Queensland, asphalt surfacing will improve the Roma Truck Stop precinct. While we’re on Queensland, a new heavy vehicle rest area will be created at Homestead West on Flinders Highway, which drivers in that area will welcome.
In New South Wales, heavy vehicle rest areas will be upgraded at Tomingley in the Narromine Shire Council and on Sturt Highway in Maude, with improvements to both the Ravensworth Eastbound and Westbound rest areas.
In the Yarriambiack Shire, there will be upgrades to nine existing truck parking locations, while in South Australia a new heavy vehicle rest area will be created at Pimba and the Stuart Highway rest area will be upgraded at Arcoona.
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The approval of these infrastructure projects demonstrates that the current government is listening to the industry on the importance of decent rest areas when it comes to safety and fatigue management. In addition, there is clearly a long-term view to this sort of infrastructure, as a lot of the investment has gone into maintenance.
Creating better rest areas is not about making an initial investment and then taking a ‘set-and-forget’ attitude – it’s an ongoing commitment to significant infrastructure maintenance. Like all parts of road infrastructure, truck stops and rest areas need ongoing maintenance over time, not just out of respect for the truck operators, but because well-rested and refreshed drivers mean a safer road network for everyone. It’s my hope that this approach will remain consistent in the years to come as maintenance will be required periodically to keep our road transport industry safe for future generations.
I’m proud to be part of the Heavy Vehicle Rest Area Steering Committee which first-hand is responsible for identifying these key strategic locations. Relying on the advice of truck drivers, like myself, as part of the Committee means that policy initiatives are driven by the people who have experienced driver-fatigue issues first-hand. Even the Chair of the Committee, Senator Glenn Sterle, is a former truck operator, so this reliance on experience reaches all the way to Federal Parliament. This is fantastic for us truck operators and the industry. It means key advice on creating and improving rest areas is not solely provided by a bunch of bureaucratic suits who have the lives of truck drivers and owner-drivers in their hands, but by people who truly understand the industry.
With improvements made to heavy vehicle rest area infrastructure, new rest areas created and people with first-hand knowledge of the industry providing advice in this process, I have full confidence in the management of rest areas under the current administration. As always, better-rested truck drivers mean better safety for our roads, so both truck operators and members of the communities come out on top.
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