It now almost seems unanimous across the transport industry that a national framework for driver competency is need of reform, and fast. There are several key areas that are now being targeted by industry associations and those with the power to propose changes.
Austroads outlined proposed changes to the National Heavy Vehicle Driver Competency Framework in January, after a thorough review of current practices.
It found that the current time-based system of holding licences wasn’t effective at ensuring drivers are as skilled as they can be, which then has on-flowing effects to safety on the roads not just for themselves, but all drivers.
After the Australian Trucking Association’s Trucking Australia 24 conference, NatRoad chair Paul Fellows spoke out regarding safety on the roads, saying drivers must stay vigilant and report any sightings of unsafe driving.
Concerns have freshly arisen after the crash on the Eyre Highway near Yalata, which claimed the lives of three.
South Australia Road Transport Association (SARTA) executive officer Steve Shearer chaired a session at the conference titled ‘Fixing Truck Driver Licencing’, presenting solutions to increase driver competency alongside two Austroads executives.
“The sessions addressed the “Elephant in the Room”, namely the widespread and growing concern about the unsafe on-road practices of some drivers and operators which put the lives of other HV drivers and road users at grave risk,” Shearer says in a letter regarding the conference.
“The Austroads projects do not adequately tackle the most problematic issue; how to ensure that before being issued with a HV license every driver, whether Australian born or from overseas, not only has the skills and is competent but that they also understand and adopt the appropriate safe driving and road-sharing attitude and culture that applies in Australia.
“The principle of accountability should extend beyond the transport operator business to the customer base, by requiring that they ensure their transport operator has the right standards and measures in place re HV drivers’ on-road safety behaviour.
“More and more good drivers are walking away from the industry or restricting the routes they will work on and/or whether they will work at night, because of the increased risks they face from the growing minority of unsafe drivers.”
Identifying issues
General manager of programs at Austroads Paul Davies was one of the presenters at the licencing session, speaking about the results of the review that Austroads undertook in great detail.
There were trends that Austroads noticed in poor driver behaviour on the road which could result in crashes, and solutions on how to address them.
“Australia needs competent, well-trained and safe heavy vehicle drivers,” Davies says.
“With industry feedback and research, there’s an opportunity here to improve heavy vehicle licencing around driver competency.
“The good news is that the average heavy vehicle driver is better than the regular driver. In the current system, licencing isn’t aligned with key risks and training isn’t consistent across Australia.
“We want to make sure the availability of heavy vehicle drivers isn’t compromised. It’s important to have more time behind the wheel to build skill – this is the message we got consistently. Supervised driving leads to more confident drivers, and there’s a need to strengthen competency-based assessment.”
Austroads partnered with the Melbourne University Accident Research Centre (MUARC) to perform some key research into how and why accidents occur, and how driver competency factors into them.
This allowed both organisations to identify trends in driver behaviour that could result in more incidents.
“A big alignment that we found is driver history related to heavy vehicle crashes,” Davies explains.
“History of driving offence, history of crashing a heavy vehicle and limited experience in a heavy vehicle on the road. We found training programs that addressed the attitude to driving made a big difference.
“Licencing is just one factor on heavy vehicle driver shortages. We’re really keen to not exacerbate the problem and help reduce it. There’s a lot more people licenced to drive a heavy vehicle than there are vehicles.”
The introduction of stricter driver competency training and requirements could have both positive and negative effects on the industry, Davies says.
While it will make the roads safer, it also puts up more barriers for those looking to enter the industry. Proposals for supervised driving and assessments could deter new drivers if it means rising costs for them and their businesses.
“For young drivers, we recognise the pathway into the industry can be a challenging one,” Davies says.
“We don’t want to make it a bigger hurdle, but we wanted to recognise that inexperience is a risk factor. We’re working on a pilot for young drivers to recognise how we can manage risks to bring someone into the industry safely. That could serve as a framework for licencing going forward.”
Adding restrictions
Other concerns raised across the industry has been around the transfer of licences, both from drivers moving up classes without having much driving experience, and those transferring from overseas licences.
Austroads consultant Judy Oswin acknowledges that while there are safety and behavioural issues on the road currently, lack of experience is the number one factor on creating road incidents.
“We don’t have a lot of evidence, but what we do have doesn’t point at safety issues around overseas drivers,” she says.
“In terms of crash rates, one state looked at crash rates over the 2014-15, and less than a quarter of a per cent that sustained injuries were by overseas drivers. Another state looked at light vehicles, and about 1.3 per cent of those involved were people on an overseas licence.
“Where there was some elevated risk was people who come from unrecognised countries, meaning those who don’t have a similar licencing framework to Australia. The highest crash rate was those on provisional or probationary licences.
“There’s a 45 to 90 per cent increase that someone will be in a heavy vehicle crash if they’re on a probationary licence and they’ve advanced quickly.
“We might look at making a recognised country program for heavy vehicles. Under those circumstances, we could potentially look at a less rigorous process for recognised countries.”