Lobby group uses crash statistics to put the onus on motorists to act sensibly around trucks
South Australia’s peak trucking lobby has seized on fatal crash statistics to put the onus on motorists to stop doing “dumb arse things” around trucks.
At its recent conference, the South Australian Road Transport Association (SARTA) highlighted the percentage of truck-car collisions motorists were responsible for in recent years.
SARTA Executive Director Steve Shearer says the figure shows governments need to look at ways to encourage motorists to act sensibly around trucks.
“In a five year period up until last year 77 people were killed in car-truck accidents in this State and 75 per cent of those according to the [State] Government were caused by the motorist and not the truck driver,” Shearer says.
“It means that governments have to do things and try and get the community to not do dumb arse things around our trucks.”
Shearer referred to the Share the Road Safely campaign launched last year with the State Government.
The trucking industry has made its own attempts to educate motorists, such as through the Australian Trucking Association’s (ATA) Safety Truck exhibition.
The vehicle travels to community events and schools to provide advice and tips on acting safely around trucks.
During his speech, Shearer also told attendees SARTA was fighting for regulatory reforms to reduce the paperwork burden on trucking operators.
“We want minimum regulation because most of you have flat management structures – you don’t have 12 people in the office managing compliance, you have one and that one person probably knows five other things as well,” Shearer says.
“We keep pointing out that the margins in this industry are tiny and often non-existent.”