Industry organisation Road Freight NSW (RFNSW) is backing recommendations put to the NSW government by a legislative committee surrounding a lack of appropriate rest areas in the state.
Released in February, the report outlined a series of recommendations to ease pressure on truck drivers, with the number one cause of these pressures identified as fatigue.
The committee reported that there were not enough rest areas in Sydney and surrounds to accommodate the needs of the industry, and that the government should put greater funding to making more.
RFNSW CEO Simon O’Hara says that the recommendations speak to a general consensus among the industry.
“I thought there was a lot of common sense and practicality to the recommendations,” he says.
“It’s something the freight industry and truckies have known for a long time, that there aren’t enough rest areas around greater Sydney. We need to do something to address it, but it’s a two-way street.
“The community wants safety on their roads and goods on their shelves. The real issue in that two-way street is that the community has to be prepared to ensure that truckies around Sydney have adequate places to rest and rest properly so that we can manage fatigue in the best possible way.
“In our perspective it’s a step in the right direction, and we welcome the findings of the committee.”
Though the number of rest areas will need to increase, how they are used also needs to be monitored, O’Hara says.
A National Heavy Vehicle Regulator survey from late in 2023 noted that 60 per cent of carvanners surveyed said that they had used a heavy vehicle rest area at some point.
“There’s a need for urgent action in Western Sydney and around the port,” O’Hara says.
“We need to be able to assure that interstate and intrastate truckies can find a place to rest that’s adequate and fit for purpose. Somewhere they can use the loo if they need to and somewhere they can get proper, undisturbed rest.
“Without truckies being able to do their jobs properly, it becomes so much harder for the industry.
“From our perspective, we would see rest areas as not being a free-for-all for every local freight company to come and use for the purpose of storing or leaving their trucks overnight. We raised our firm view with the committee and in the written submission, that rest areas would need to be policed.
“Whether it be local council or state government, there should be regular checks on vehicles to ensure that they haven’t been there for say 36 or 48 hours. They’re meant to be there for a specific period of time.
“If a truck or trailer was there for longer than 12 hours, you’d have to start asking questions.”
RFNSW also supports the recommendations raised by the legislative committee regarding the accessibility of truck stops for women in the industry.
O’Hara says that ensuring that facilities are also catering to women as transport organisations and businesses across the country look to support the growing percentage joining the industry.
“It was worthwhile noting that the committee picked up on some of the aspects we noted, including facilities that cater to women,” he says.
“As we set about trying to attract more women to the transport industry, we need to ensure that the rest areas and facilities there are fit for purpose, particularly for women so that we can retain them in the industry. We want it to be a professional career that they can look at seriously.
“We have to make sure facilities are fit for purpose. We have to make sure we not only talk the talk, but walk the walk and make sure the job of truck driver can be done by women without feeling like they can’t use rest areas because there aren’t any.”