Australasian Transport News (ATN) Issue 356

“Do you know how little worthwhile research is done into transport and logistics issues in this country?” Sorry, there seems to have been a reduction in the number of trucks on the road taking place. Oh, and there will be fewer of them in future. Must have something to do with higher productivity vehicles … or something. What’s that you say? The forecasts are for exactly the opposite? That’s despite the boom growth HPVs and hundreds of thousands of extra kilometres of bitumen being open to them? Ah! So that HPV bit is wrong but the forecast is right. Must be. Because, like Port of Melbourne’s five per cent container throughput growth, it always has been. Half right or not at all? Did I do it again? If you say…

Vying for cutest truck at the recent International Truck Trailer and Equipment Show (ITTES) in Melbourne were these two little beauties at the “Show ’n ’Shine” section. The baby tray-top is a 1956 International ASC 160, and the baby Pantech is a Ford C 600 with a V8 diesel donk – also circa 1950s. At the other end of the wheelbase scale were these two great old chariots from a couple of decades back, of the Mack and Kenworth variety. The two shiny rigs with enormous bonnets looked so good that these show-goers took selfies in front of them. We don’t know if they also took selfies in front of the numerous cab-over garbage trucks on display elsewhere. Of course, the cute end also featured the best hood ornaments, with…

The Australian Trucking Association has hailed new figures suggesting a marked decline in fatal truck crashes in Australia between 1982 and 2015. The figures, which were compiled by the Centre for Automotive Safety Research (CASR) at the University of Adelaide using government statistics, show that the rate of fatal articulated truck crashes fell by 80 per cent during the period. Articulated trucks include semitrailers and B-double combinations, the report suggests. “Safety is always the trucking industry’s first priority,” ATA CEO Christopher Melham says. “These figures show the dramatic improvement we have achieved, with the fatal crash rate for articulated trucks falling by 80 per cent between 1982 and 2015. “During this time, the number of articulated trucks on Australian roads doubled. “Even as truck and car numbers have grown, the…

Police and road authorities involved in parallel truck compliance operations in two states have reported a string of defects common to such initiatives. In New South Wales, Operation StateTrans, which is occurring at the same time but is not linked to the national Operation Austrans, has seen 13,806 trucks and trailers inspected in its first week. After the first week, NSW authorities report 1609 defects were applied to trucks and trailers for issues such as braking, fuel and oil leaks, steering, and other mechanical issues. Officers have also issued 888 infringements and 317 breaches for a range of licence, registration, fatigue, loading, and other offences. Inspectors have downloaded 321 engine control modules so far during the operation, with 66 found to be non-compliant or tampered with, allowing speeds of over…

Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman (ASBFEO) will investigate the Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal’s (RSRT) payments order’s impact on small business owner-drivers, leaving the Transport Workers Union (TWU) less than impressed. ASBFEO Kate Carnell has also moved to look at strengthening the position of small businesses when they interact with official bodies, including tribunals, before their creation and during their operation. The inquiry will consult broadly with stakeholders to establish exactly how widespread situations of financial hardship are across the sector. “Some owner-drivers are saying the battle to stay afloat has only just begun, as they struggle to stay on the road and try and re-coup the income they were forced to forgo during the weeks of uncertainty triggered by the RSRT, so we’ll be looking for feedback to…

The Coalition loosened another pre-election shot across the Opposition’s trucking bows with a road user charge reduction before releasing the federal Budget. Following its abolition of the Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal (RSRT), infrastructure and transport minister Darren Chester has pared the truck fuel tax rate from 26.14 to 25.9 cents per litre from July 1. In welcoming a move it had called for, the Australian Trucking Association (ATA) calculates it will save a typical owner-driver about $200 in 2016-17, and a typical small fleet operator about $1100. ATA chief executive Christopher Melham thanked Chester for working to address the ongoing overcharging faced by the trucking industry – an issue the organisation has long and often complained about. “The trucking industry pays for our use of the road system through heavy…