News
TRUCKING INDUSTRY CONGRATULATES CRAIG SMITH-GANDER
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he Australian Trucking Association has congratulated Western Australian trucking industry leader Craig SmithGander on being made a Member of the Order of Australia in the 2021 Queen’s Birthday Honours List. Mr Smith-Gander was recognised for his significant service to surf lifesaving, transport logistics and the community. He has been the owner and managing director of Kwik Logistics since 2005 and the Chair of ATA member association Western Roads Federation since 2017. Mr Smith-Gander was elected to the ATA’s own board in May 2020. ATA Chair David Smith said that Mr Smith-Gander had made a valuable contribution to the ATA and its network of member associations. “Craig is vastly experienced in the corporate sector and in not-for-profit governance. He was the inaugural Chair of Westcycle, is the president of Surf Life Saving Western Australia and is a board member of
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Surf Life Saving Australia,” Mr Smith said. “As a member of the ATA board, Craig has applied his immense knowledge and network of contacts to helping the ATA modernise the way we approach governance and industry strategy. “Craig is closely involved in the development of our new strategic plan and in our internal initiatives to update our engagement with our member associations. We couldn’t do this work without his expert input. “Craig is a fantastic recipient of this important honour,” Mr Smith said.
NTI release – More trucks, more freight but fewer crashes
major new report has found during COVID-19 Australia’s roads were the safest they’ve been in years, with the number of multi-vehicle crashes involving heavy vehicles down more than 16 percent. NTI’s National Truck Accident Research Centre (NTARC) published its 10th, and now annual, national report into the cause of major crashes involving heavy vehicles. NTARC author, Adam Gibson, of NTI, said the positive findings came despite more trucks and freight being on Australian roads, particularly during the pandemic. Since 2003, when the first NTARC report was released, the number of freight movements and heavy vehicles has increased by 50%. “The industry should be congratulated for keeping Australia moving and for keeping supermarket shelves stocked especially during COVID lockdowns,” Mr Gibson said. The report found evidence road safety messaging is working with fatigue-related crashes involving heavy vehicles down from 27 per cent in 2005 to eight per cent last year.
“There’s been a massive reduction in multi-vehicle crashes involving trucks and the lowest number of fatigue-related crashes since NTI began keeping records 18 years ago. It is a credit to the industry, truck drivers and all road users.” Technology and smart trucks are key to further driving down the road toll. The report found one in eight truck crashes were due to inappropriate speed for the conditions, however this did not mean the vehicles were exceeding the speed limit. “Speed cameras, radar traps and increased speed enforcement help deter high speed offences, but data shows technology and smart braking systems on trucks are key to reducing single-vehicle rollover crashes.” NTI is working with the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) to use data from the NTARC report to develop new education initiatives to further improve road safety. To read the report visit www.nti.com. au/getmedia/ae58e078-20da-4a50-94271b641a189598/NTI-NTARC-Report-2021.pdf
Since 2003, when the first NTARC report was released, the number of freight movements and heavy vehicles has increased by 50%
South Coast Highway upgrades completed
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he final stage of the WA State Governments $30 million South Coast Highway upgrade is completed. The project includes the reconstruction of a six kilometre section of highway and the construction of two passing lanes between Bluff Creek Road and Kojaneerup West Road - improving road safety on this stretch of highway. The $30 million, three-stage project has seen more than 11 kilometres of highway upgraded between Albany and Jerramungup in the Great Southern since the start of 2019. Earlier staged improvements have included: • Mead Road Passing Lanes (Stage 1) - widening the road from seven to 11 metres between Killarney Road and Monty's Leap Winery, and construction of a westbound passing lane 2.5 kilometres west of Kalgan River Bridge (completed June 2019); • Kalgan (Stage 2) - widening a 2.8km section of road from seven to 11 metres between Monty's Leap Winery and the Kalgan River Bridge (completed April 2020). The contract for Stage 3 of the project was awarded to WA company Ertech Pty Ltd in October 2020. It has supported more than 150 direct and indirect jobs during construction. Transport Minister Rita Saffioti said, "The completion of these upgrades will mark a major milestone in our $210 million program of infrastructure works currently underway across the Great Southern region. "We're also undertaking more than 485 kilometres of shoulder sealing and installing audible edge lines on sections of Chester Pass Road, South Western Highway, Albany Highway, Muir Highway, Great Southern Highway and South Coast Highway as part of the Regional Road Safety Program, to provide road users with a more forgiving and much safer driving environment". WATM • August 2021
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