ALRTA News – 12 April 2021

THANK YOU TO OUR NATIONAL SPONSOR
PACCAR & DEALER INDUSTRY FUND

It was only fitting that in their 75th year of operation, the Brown and Hurley Group took possession of the 70,000th Australian built Kenworth.

A T659 painted in a design resembling that of the first Kenworth truck sold by Brown and Hurley in 1965. The W923 model was sold to a customer in Toowoomba. 

HV CHARGES TO RISE 2.5 PER CENT 

Infrastructure and Transport Ministers have agreed to increase heavy vehicle charges by 2.5 per cent from 1 July 2021-22.  The increase is in line with the recommendation put forward by the ALRTA in a recent submission to the National Transport Commission (NTC).
 
ALRTA National President, Scott McDonald, said that the decision demonstrated that Ministers had listened to ALRTA’s argument that timely modest increases were preferable to sudden sharp increases down the track.
 
“The NTC was forecasting a government revenue shortfall of 13.4 per cent in 2020-21 at current charging levels, in part because a planned increase of 2.5 per cent in 2020-21 was abandoned due to COVID-19,” said President McDonald.
 
“While all businesses would prefer lower charges, the reality is that the longer we delay an increase, the larger that increase has to be. 
 
“If charges remained frozen, annual charge increases may need to exceed 5 per cent for several years. No transport business would welcome sustained hikes of that magnitude.  The decision to increase charges by 2.5 per cent in 2021-22 will assist with a smooth transition to fair cost recovery, he said.

ARE YOU INVOLVED IN HORSE TRANSPORT?

ALRTA’s Driver and Animal Welfare Committee met last week to consider proposals to change the Australian Animal Welfare Standards and Guidelines on Land Transport of Horses.  The Australian Agriculture Ministers Forum has instigated a review with a consultation paper released in February 2021. 

Several changes are proposed affecting:

•    Provision of water and rest during the journey;
•    Record keeping;
•    Prevention of heat stress;
•    Fitness for the journey;
•    Minimum age of foals for transport;
•    Loading density and clearance;
•    Mixing of animals for transport;
•    Use of dogs; and
•    Use of restraints.

If you transport horses and would like to be involved in the review please contact the ALRTA Secretariat via office@alrta.org.au

REMINDER: OLD NVD NO LONGER ACCEPTED

Members are reminded that as of 1 January 2021, only the latest version (version 0720) of the Livestock Production Assurance National Vendor Declaration (LPA NVD) is accepted for all species of livestock being transferred.
 
Version 0720 of the LPA NVD has been available for all species since 1 July 2020 and is now the current version of the NVD.   The eNVD system is always the current version and is available online.
 
Members are reporting that older versions of the NVD remain in circulation.  You may wish to remind producers that failure to use the correct NVD version may affect their LPA accreditation.
 
More information is available here.

2021 DAIMLER FUTURE LEADERS FORUM

The 2021 Daimler Truck and Bus Future Leaders’ Forum is a career-defining opportunity to develop your potential as a future leader of the trucking industry and the ATA’s network of member associations. Nominations are now open!

ATA are looking for the next generation of leaders who can help build a stronger, safer, and more productive trucking industry.

Visit www.truck.net.au/futureleaders for more information.

Applications must be received by 1 June 2021.

CALL FOR ZERO EMISSION INCENTIVE

New, low emission transport technologies will never become a reality if they are not viable commercial options for trucking operators, ATA CEO Andrew McKellar, said today.  

In its submission to the Australian Government’s Future Fuels Strategy, the ATA has called on the government to implement a temporary zero emission truck purchase incentive, to remove the barriers that are preventing industry from adopting them.

“There must be a strong focus on the roll out of these technologies, with targeted government investment and clear action,” Mr McKellar said.    

“A temporary incentive would remove the barriers and allow market choice about the best way to move goods, reduce emissions and grow the Australian economy,” he said.  

The ATA submission highlighted an example of a successful incentive system in California, in which trucking businesses can access US$120,000 ($A157,480) incentives for the purchase of zero emission prime movers. 

“This scheme has already assisted more than 7,500 zero emission and other clean trucks and buses to enter the transport fleet,” Mr McKellar said. 

The ATA submission also recommended the ZLEV strategy address vehicle design rules to implement additional mass and width for zero emission and cleaner trucks, as well as extending investment in hydrogen and electric refuelling stations.
 
Read more here.

NEW REPORT PROVES THAT GOOD MAINTENANCE IMPROVES ROAD SAFETY

A new report from Australia’s largest trucking insurer and the industry regulator has confirmed operators who effectively maintain their vehicles are less likely to be involved in an incident. For the first time, the trucking industry regulator and leading insurer have shared de-identified critical road crash data, with the aim of improving road safety.
 
The National Heavy Vehicle Regulator and Australia’s leading trucking insurer, NTI, have brought together their research, to minimise risk and create safer workplaces for truck drivers.



Data from NTI’s NTARC Major Accident Investigation Report and the NHVR’s National Roadworthiness Baseline Survey was examined to create a new report which looks at the relationship between vehicle standards and safety performance.
 
Traditionally there has been very little evidence which proves a link between vehicle maintenance and major incidents due to a separation between organisations which hold data on vehicle condition and those who have access to crash data. This initiative between NHVR and NTI is an important step forward in sharing insights.
 
Ten key areas were examined in the report, including brakes, couplings, steering and suspension, wheels and tyres, structure, seats, lights, mirrors, windscreens, and engine and driveline to determine there was a correlation between poor maintenance and increased claims frequency and cost.
 
Report author, NTI’s Transport & Logistics Risk Engineer Adam Gibson, said the link was particularly clear in two categories.
 
“There was a 29% increase in frequency and a 22% increase in the cost of claims for transport companies with poorly maintained couplings. For wheel and tyre defects, the frequency was 32% higher than the baseline while cost was 26% higher,” Mr Gibson said.
 
“It’s important to note this does not show crashes were caused by defects in those systems, but that operators with trucks in which couplings, wheels and tyres were not well maintained, were involved in a greater number of claims. The link is correlative, not causative.”
 
Mr Gibson said there was one category that yielded surprising results.
 
“There was only a 3% higher frequency and 4% higher cost compared to the baseline for operators who had vehicles with defects in their braking system. This is due to the way braking systems were tested back in 2016, and that process has now undergone a significant overhaul.”
 
NHVR Director Vehicle Safety and Performance Peter Austin said this report highlighted the importance of regular and effective maintenance regimes across the heavy vehicle fleet.
 
“Well maintained vehicles operating on our road network are essential to the safety of all road users,” Mr Austin said.
 
“The NHVR has a long-standing commitment to evidence-based enforcement, which is why we take a national, risk-based approach to checking whether heavy vehicles in the fleet are maintained.
 
“If we see a history of non-compliance, we intervene early and investigate further to prevent a potential accident from occurring.
 
“The report marks an important step forward, with the expertise and insights shared across the regulator and insurer providing opportunities to reduce fatalities on our roads.”
 
The new report comes just months after NTI was named a recipient of the NHVR’s 2020 Heavy Vehicle Safety Initiative, a grant supported by the Federal Government.
 
The full report can be viewed here.

FUNNY

One day a truckie got slightly stuck with his load under an overpass on a busy stretch of highway.

It wasn’t long before a policeman stopped by to check things out. He sized up the situation and then advised the truckie to let some air out of his tyres so he could move on.

The truckie replied, “I’m stuck at the top officer, not at the bottom.”

SAVE THE DATES FOR 2021

Brisbane Truck Show 13-16 May 2021 – ALRTA will have a booth
LRTASA Conference – Adelaide SA – 18-19 June 2021
LRTAQ Conference – Roma QLD – 16-17 July 2021 – Register Here
LRTAV Conference – Bendigo VIC – 20-21 August 2021