The Australian Trucking Association (ATA) has urged policymakers to ensure truck drivers are included in the Australian government’s planned road safety and awareness campaign.
There were 56 fewer fatal crashes involving heavy vehicles in 2023 than 2003, which is a marked improvement given the extensive number of heavy vehicles now operating on Australian roads.
ATA CEO Mark Parry cited findings from the 2024 National Truck Accident Research Centre’s major incident report (NTARC 2.0) as key to his desire for safer truck driving practices to be continually pursued throughout the road safety sector.
“Our industry is much safer than it used to be,” Parry says.
“But the NTARC 2.0 report highlights issues we must address. The report found that driver inattention or distraction incidents have increased since 2022. Incidents due to inappropriate speed have increased, as have incidents involving tailgating.
“These findings show that the Government’s planned road safety campaign needs to reinforce good safety practices by truck drivers as well as car drivers.
“We all need to be reminded to pay attention, slow down and stay back from the vehicle in front.
Parry also believes the continuing technological progression of trucks may be acting as both a hinderance and a help to drivers.
“The growing number of alerts from in-cab technology is also a distraction issue. Drivers need alerts that are urgent and important – such as warnings about drowsiness or lane keeping – but don’t need unimportant alerts while they are focused on driving,” he says.
With the drastic reduction in fatal collisions involving heavy vehicles between 2003 and 2023, Parry believes the government should be involved in the continued upgrading of Australia’s heavy vehicle fleet.
“Technologies like electronic stability control and advanced emergency braking save lives, but trucking businesses need support to buy new trucks,” Parry says.
“We are arguing that the Government should permanently reinstate full expensing, so businesses can bring forward their fleet upgrades to improve their safety, productivity and sustainability now.”
The call for the national road safety campaign to include truck messages was a key recommendation from the ATA’S 2024 Workforce and Driver Training Summit, which brought together leaders from the organisation’s ten member federations.
The ATA received an early version of the NTARC 2.0 report for summit participants.
To view the full NTARC 2.0 report, click here.
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