ALC throws its support behind Lindsay Fox's campaign to have a $1,500 black box installed in every truck in Australia...
November 28, 2012
The Australian Logistics Council (ALC) has thrown its support behind Lindsay Fox’s push to have black boxes installed in trucks to prevent heavy vehicle crashes and fatalities.
The Linfox founder detailed his campaign to tabloid news program A Current Affair (ACA), saying the devices will improve road safety.
Black boxes, which Fox says cost $1,500 each, are currently used in Linfox’s fleet and record driver speed and work hours, and ALC Managing Director Michael Kilgariff says they should be mandatory.
“A number of companies in Australia are successfully using telematics technology to assist them with the monitoring of their speed and fatigue management policies, but ALC believes this needs to go further,” he says.
“The use of monitoring systems embracing telematics for compliance purposes should be mandated for heavy line-haul vehicles as part of a company’s compliance with their chain of responsibility obligations.”
Transport Workers Union (TWU) National Secretary Tony Sheldon has also backed Fox, but the Australian Trucking Association (ATA) says black boxes should not be mandated.
“The ATA does not support making telematics compulsory, because the evidence shows that businesses with good management and safety systems can achieve high levels of safety with or without telematics,” ATA Government Relations Manager Bill McKinley says.
“In our TruckSafe safety accreditation program, we have businesses with entirely paper-based safety systems. We have businesses that use Excel spreadsheets and we have businesses that use sophisticated telematics. All these firms comply with our standards, and they all safe.”
The ACA report aired concerns of truck drivers about the devices, such as privacy issues, but Sheldon says Fox should be congratulated for his campaign.
“My legacy is to create the safety on the freeways. We’ve got to do something so that we can eliminate all of those deaths,” Fox told ACA.
“I don’t give up. I’m still banging on the politicians’ doors and want them to do something about it.”
Sheldon used his appearance to again criticise retailers, who he blames for carnage on the road. In a statement released to ACA, Coles says it believes black boxes can help improve safety and that it supports their installation.