Transport policy makers propose new regulations and tougher sanctions for trucking industry to improve road safety
By Brad Gardner | February 8, 2011, 2010
Trucking operators face a host of new regulations and stringent enforcement measures under a government proposal to improve road safety.
The National Road Safety Strategy 2011 – 2020 recommends sweeping changes to the trucking industry to reduce the national road toll by 30 percent over a 10-year period.
The report, which is currently open for consultation, wants an increase in point-to-point speed cameras and a greater role for telematics to monitor speed, mass limits, road damage and braking and handling.
Developed by government transport departments, the report says more effective registration sanctions are needed for heavy vehicles from a safety and environmental perspective.
It wants greater application of chain of responsibility legislation to prosecute heavy vehicle speeding, with a particular focus on those caught fiddling with speed limiters.
“No death or serious injury on the roads is acceptable, and bold steps will be needed to reduce further the number of deaths and serious injuries,” Queensland Main Roads Director-General and the chair of the Safety Standing Sub-Committee, Alan Tesch, says.
While it wants the measures subject to regulatory impact statements, the report supports the mandatory introduction of ABS, electronic stability control, and increased cabin strength and lane departure warning systems for trucks.
Saying “the time is ripe for a fresh approach”, the report examines the use of intelligent speed adaptation (ISA) devices which warn drivers when they are speeding and can physically limit a vehicle’s speed.
It says ISA should be mandatory for repeat offenders and P-plate drivers and fitted to fleet operations.
The report’s authors suggest governments should work with insurance companies to lower premiums for those companies with ISA devices.
As well as supporting electronic work diary trials to improve fatigue management, the report recommends banning mobile phone use for novice, heavy vehicle, bus and taxi drivers even if hands-free units are fitted.
“Mobile phone use produces a significant increase in casualty crash risk, regardless of whether the phone is hand-held or hands-free,” the report says.
“There is evidence to support bans on all mobile phone use while driving.”
The report calls on governments to develop national random drug testing standards for the commercial vehicle sector.
“Companies with testing regimes in place which meet this standard would have a defence against chain of responsibility prosecutions for drug driving,” the report says.
The report does not put a timeframe on many of the proposals, but says relevant interventions will need to be introduced quickly or phased in over the next 10 years to have an effect on the road toll.
It lists point-to-point cameras, ISA devices, more effective speeding sanctions, mobile phone bans and electronic work diaries as some of the measures which should be introduced during the early stages of the safety strategy.
Increased use of telematics, mandatory safety systems on trucks and national drug testing standards have been listed as future steps.
“Many of these represent measures which will require considerable discussion with the community about how they might be implemented and why they are important,” the report says.
“In the medium-term, some of these may not proceed as initially envisaged.”
The Federal Government recently extended the consultation period for the 10-year strategy to February 18, saying it is important for interested individuals and groups to put forward their views.
The report lists possible safety packages that could be implemented, including reducing the speed of vehicles by 1 percent on urban, regional and remote roads and imposing reduced speed limits on high risk routes.
It says road crashes cause around 1,500 deaths and 30,000 serious injuries each year, with an annual cost of $27 billion.
The previous 10-year strategy from 2001 to 2010 aimed to reduce deaths by at least 40 percent, but the new report says the figure will not be reached.