NSW roads minister sees future where drivers can reserve their place at a rest area.
Truck drivers should in future be able to reserve a parking spot at a rest area, New South Wales roads minister Duncan Gay says.
Gay hopes a trial currently underway on the Newell Highway in NSW using an in-vehicle app to inform drivers if there is space available at an upcoming rest area will eventually lead to drivers being able to plan their parking spots well in advance.
The trial is designed to help truck drivers comply with their fatigue management obligations. Drivers taking part in the trial receive real-time information to tablets mounted on their dashboard informing them if there is parking space available at rest areas ahead of them.
“In the future I would like drivers of heavy vehicles to have the ability to book that parking spot so that they know exactly where they can park. I do not believe that is beyond the realms of possibility,” Gay says.
“We need to be able to provide surety for those who drive long distances carrying our nation on the backs of trucks crossing from coast to coast.”
Gay says the NSW Government is also looking to build more rest areas.
“The Government has been out there fixing the problems in this area. In the rest areas there is the fatigue issue and there is scarcity of space,” he says.
The Newell Highway trial is being funded under the Federal Government’s Heavy Vehicle Safety and Productivity Program, which was established in 2008 to finance trucking-specific projects such as rest area upgrades and technology trials.