The transport association still wants the government to do more to fund the industry
The National Road Transport Association (NatRoad) says it welcomes the Federal opposition’s pledge to give $80 million to new truck rest stop works if it wins this year’s election.
But NatRoad also says more needs to be done at all levels of government outside of this pledge to reduce driver fatigue.
NatRoad says the current funding programs for rest areas are insufficient when driver fatigue is such a pressing issue for the transport industry.
“The Heavy Vehicle Safety and Productivity Program (HVSPP) is one of the Federal government’s main programs for funding rest areas and an industry analysis shows it is running at an annual spend of about only $5.5 million,” NatRoad Warren Clark says.
“The whole national network needs to be thoroughly audited, as you can’t have a world class road freight system unless you have strategically placed, world class rest areas.”
Clark says any further funding outside of the current commitments is welcome and would massively benefit the entire road transport and freight industry.
“It’s NatRoad’s strong view that Federal road grants to the states and territories need to be tied to upgrading and building truck rest areas,” he says.
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NatRoad says all current and proposed truck stop rest areas should be graded in accordance with the 2019 Austroads’ Guidelines for the Provision of Heavy Vehicle Rest Area Facilities and have a plan put in place by governments to upgrade amenities and facilities.
The transport association’s policy is that road infrastructure should be upgraded to allow heavy vehicle access to rest stops so long as the benefits exceed the costs.
NatRoad’s strategy recommends road managers ensuring there are adequate truck stops and logistics centres where road network constraints prevent heavy vehicle access to allow for larger vehicles to be broken down into smaller combinations.