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NatRoad call to NTC on driver offences detail

Industry body seeks national consistency over access to data

 

The National Road Transport Association (NatRoad) says it has renewed its request to the National Transport Commission (NTC) to keep notification to transport operators of their drivers’ offences on the reform agenda.

NatRoad CEO Warren Clark identifies as crucial that state and territory laws be made simpler and uniform and that something as basic as NatRoad members getting notified of offences that have been committed while drivers are driving their vehicles must be part of the reform agenda.

“We are currently back in the thick of the review of the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL). There will be strengthened duties for drivers to be fit for work, which must include them having a valid licence,” Clark says.

“Operators need to know if their drivers have few or no points to ensure that they are legally capable of driving a heavy vehicle.

“It’s as simple as operators have a responsibility to prevent or minimise potential injury, danger or loss by ensuring their transport activities are safe.

“That means being told where a driver might have breached the road rules so that the possibility of the driver driving whilst unlicensed is eliminated.”


Read NatRoad’s argument for notification reform, here


The organisation worries that members are being loaded with responsibilities they are unable to equip themselves to comply with.

“The NatRoad concern is that within any enhanced driver fitness for work regime, operators will be required to have detailed information about offences and driver licence status,” Clark pointed out.

“NatRoad members find it difficult to obtain data about offences and other licensing details from employees and subcontractors, even where sometimes there are employment contract conditions directed at this information gap.”

NatRoad is also concerned that there is no uniformity in Australian law for operators to securely access driver records and on-road breaches of their drivers.

“In a new HVNL regime these laws should either be incorporated on a uniform basis as underpinning the new HVNL or states and territories should commit to uniformity as part of the reform process,” Clark said.

 

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