The report has listed recommendations to make truck stops a more inclusive and welcoming environment for all truck drivers
A new industry study completed by TMX Global has found that women driving heavy vehicles on Australian roads do not stop at rest areas if they don’t feel safe.
Female drivers surveyed for the study said poor lighting, unenclosed shower facilities, a lack of security and the risk of vandalism to vehicles prevents them from stopping at or using existing rest stops.
Women make up only three per cent of heavy vehicle drivers. Survey respondents say these conditions must improve if the industry wants to employ and retain more women.
Healthy Heads in Trucks & Sheds (HHTS), a not-for-profit which aims to improve the wellbeing of national transport, warehousing, and logistics workers, commissioned TMX Global to evaluate heavy vehicle rest areas across Australia.
“It is critical that heavy vehicles drivers are as mentally healthy as they can be so that they can maintain concentration and deal with the stresses of the road,” a HTTS spokesperson says.
“To achieve this, it is critical that we provide the support they need while on the road: suitable rest areas are an important part of this support.”
The study, which included surveying men and women drivers, a literature review, industry consultation, crash data analysis and route analysis, found there are not enough fit-for-purpose rest areas for heavy vehicle drivers, which is impacting driver safety and mental and physical health.
Most survey respondents say they stop at rest areas due to fatigue and to use the bathroom. Fatigue and distraction, or inattention, are the two leading causes of heavy vehicle accidents in Australia.
“How a rest area is designed influences not only whether a driver gets the rest they need, but whether they stop at all,” TMX Global associate director James Sheerin says.
“Without adequate space for turning and bitumen for parking, or well-lit, clean, and comfortable facilities, we know drivers are discouraged from using the rest stop.
“Improving this infrastructure for heavy vehicle drivers across the country will reduce the number of accidents on the road every year.”
Some of the report’s recommendations included:
- The establishment of a National Heavy Vehicle Rest Area Strategy
- Ongoing consultation of an industry ‘action group’
- Adding clean toilets and adequate parking to current minimum design standards for Heavy Vehicle rest areas
- Design and implementation of a Heavy Vehicle Rest Area pilot stop.