OPINION: The Port Botany restrictions are much more than a mere hindrance for dangerous goods drivers.
I am one of the newly elected board members of the National Road Freighters Association (NRFA). I have been involved with the Australian road transport industry since 1981 when I left school to start an apprenticeship as a diesel mechanic at a local bus company. My father was a bitumen tanker driver and my grandfather drove a bulldozer, so maybe diesel was in my blood, so to speak. I can remember very early as a young kid hooking my father’s golf buggy to the back of a pedal car just so I could carry more toys around the backyard.
As a young apprentice I would look up to the drivers and knew that someday I would get to take one of those big fancy Bedford buses for a run outside the gate.
I now drive and have driven a variety of vehicles, generally tankers everything from quads on the Tanami to B-doubles, 19 metres and singles. Most of my work generally involves loading, carrying and delivery dangerous goods. I have played around with grain and did a bit of grocery earlier on both local and interstate.
I spent 10 years in the Regular Army with artillery as a driver then to Military Police, however just like the apprentice days, I found myself hanging out to do any driving or escort jobs that came up. During an investigation it was suggested that RAEME (Royal Corps of Australian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers) was where I should be. That was my break. It didn’t take long to arrange to be transferred to RAEME and into recovery and salvage. My first posting as a ‘recce mech’ was with the Army’s heavy transport squadron and this was about the time that the Army was changing from Diamond Reos and Scammells to the S-Lines and from single bogie trailers to road trains and quad axle floats. It was one hell of an adventure and a steep learning curve.
As a towie the bets were on. Who was going to tow the first road train, double, triple or float with a Leopard on its back?
The time spent in the military, although varied, really did help to set me up for success as I found myself trying to achieve the 100 per cent pass mark. The Army taught me to set my sights high and don’t settle for second best, when with just a bit more work you can be the best.
Throughout my career both military and civilian there has always been a theme about not only what I do but how I do it. Is there a better way? How can I improve what I am doing? Risk management and looking at the big picture has really become part of my life.
Now as a trainer I do get a lot of self-satisfaction when I’m training new drivers, teaching them new tricks and helping them to better themselves and further their careers. A favourite sentence that I often use is, “It’s not what we do, it’s how we do it, and it’s about knowing why we do it that way”.
Port conundrum
More recently I have become involved with and have been advocating to industry groups, regulators, politicians and anyone who will listen about the policy changes brought in by NSW Ports at Port Botany. The repercussions of the ‘no parking’ or ‘no stopping’ basically anywhere within the port precinct particularly affects long distance dangerous goods drivers who seem to have been forgotten under the policy and who, through no fault of their own, may get caught out by delays and/or who haven’t got sufficient time left in their books to get out of the port to a safe parking area. That can be over an hour at best if there is parking when they get there. These drivers are forced to make a decision:
A. They can just wander aimlessly around the back streets in surrounding suburbs, looking for somewhere safe to park and rest to comply with the National Heavy Vehicle Law when they are already fatigued and carrying DGs. Trying to fit their vehicle in between unattended container trucks, buses, coaches and motor homes which obviously don’t have depots of their own. What could possibly go wrong?
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B. They can Just run the gauntlet and risk breaches to get out of the port and drive to get somewhere safe to park, meanwhile carrying DGs. If caught I think the nearest light pole or wall would be used to deal out any punishment
C. Or they can put up with port security guards knocking on doors, waking and telling the drivers, “This is a private road and you can’t sleep here”. When asked, “Where can I go?”, drivers are told, “That’s not my problem” and being threatened with all sorts of imaginary actions.
As far as I can see this is just wrong on so many levels and angles.
There is what’s called the TMA (truck marshalling area), however there is a big sign on the gates: ‘no hazardous goods’. Everyone from politicians, industry leaders, regulators and managers agree that there is a problem but nobody can offer a solution.
Where are our politicians our industry leaders and regulators? Where are the teeth of our new National Heavy Vehicle Laws and Chain of Responsibility? Who owns Port Botany, in particular the roadways within especially when there is open access to basically anyone? How has this been allowed to happen? If something goes wrong who is going to put their hands up and be responsible? Who has caused this by their actions or influence?
I have looked at the situation and the answer could be very simple and could be achieved with minimal costs or funding required.
- Let the DG drivers do what they have always done but have marked parking areas set aside within the port. Most people I have spoken to are unaware that it is an offence to leave a DG vehicle unattended and with mobile security patrols and CCTV security shouldn’t be an issue. Perceived congestion caused by parked trucks could also be managed by the placement of the marked parking area/s
- There are other areas around the port which are not fully utilised which could again with minimal cost and funding be partially repurposed to satisfy parking requirements, maybe even shared facilities with regulators or other authorities could be achieved.
We need to work together to solve the problem. We all need to understand the problem and look for solutions which sometimes can or could be a little outside the square. There’s plenty of food for thought.
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Kerryn Woods has 42 years’ experience in Australia’s road transport industry, including being involved in heavy recovery and salvage in the Australian Army, before driving rigids and single trailers through to dangerous goods and more recently, driver training. Kerryn is a board member of the National Road Freighters Association.