Trucking lobby gets proactive on underrun protection and stability control to ward off onerous legislation
By Brad Gardner | June 4, 2010
The Australian Trucking Association will develop best practice advisories for side and rear underrun protection and electronic stability control to ward off prescriptive legislation and educate the industry.
The group’s Industry Technical Council has been tasked with establishing two working groups by the end of the month to review literature and learn how leading trucking operators are using underrun protection and ESC.
The information will help form the content of the advisories, which are expected to be released in 2011.
According to the ATA, the advisories will give best practice guidance to operators, maintainers and suppliers on designing side underrun protection for trailers and rigid trucks and rear underrun protection for rigid trucks.
Groups such as the NRMA have called for underrun protection devices and ESC to be mandated.
Without the industry first highlighting best practices, the ATA fears operators will be forced to comply with onerous legislation which may not work.
“For example, legislation may state that a steel shield of a specified thickness must be installed, when the industry understands that composite materials can be used for safe side underrun system,” Craig Day from the council says.
Government Relations Manager Bill McKinley says the best practice guidelines will help policy makers reach an informed decision if they decide more regulation is required.
“They can’t made good standards without us telling them what works on a wide scale and what doesn’t,” he says.
McKinley says the working groups will be made up of field experts such as senior engineers and will undertake a comprehensive approach to the issues.
“It is an engineering process. It’s not something we can knock off in a week,” he says.
“It is getting into the nuts and bolts of what the ATA does for the industry.”
The latest advisories will follow other guidelines published by the ATA, such as on wheel safety, trailer combinations, brakes and electrical wiring.
NRMA’S PLAN TO IMPROVE SAFETY
The NRMA wants front, side and rear underrun barriers mandated to prevent cars from going under the truck in a crash.
It also wants monitoring equipment installed to detect tampering and provide feedback on a vehicle’s operation.
Its report in March on heavy vehicle safety called for greater government focus to reduce accidents as the freight task grows.
NRMA President Wendy Machin says this involves safer trucks, safer roads and improved rest area facilities.
“Since July 2007, the NRMA has called for the compulsory adoption of the latest safety features for trucks, improved roads, more rest areas complying to Australian standards and a greater commitment by governments to encourage all motorists to share the road responsibly,” Machin says.
The NRMA is also calling for the compulsory fitment of ESC to all new heavy vehicles and trailers to help truck drivers maintain control and prevent accidents.
Machin says side and rear underrun protection are important and must meet the European standard, but McKinley says the industry needs to determine if international schemes work best for Australian conditions.
The Federal Government last year mandated front underrun protection from January 11, 2011 for all new heavy vehicles over 12 tonnes.
Existing trucks must be fitted from January 2012.