Latest truck crash stats highlight need for action

National Transport Insurance has released its Major Accident Investigation 2020 report, compiled by the National Truck Accident Research Centre, which outlines a rise in the number of truck driver deaths in 2019 compared to the two years prior.

Chair of the Australian Trucking Association (ATA), David Smith said the report demonstrates a need to improve truck driver safety through increased education, improved business safety practices, and better transport infrastructure.

“An important finding in the report is that 80 per cent of all serious crashes involving cars and trucks were the fault of the car driver,” Mr. Smith said.

The report also found that two-thirds of crashes were a result of fatigue or distraction.

“The ATA has long called for improved and more frequent rest areas along our roads and highways, which would ensure that drivers have spaces to take proper breaks and manage their fatigue effectively,” Mr. Smith said.

To better understand the cause of heavy vehicle crashes, Mr. Smith said the ATA is also calling for the implementation of noblame safety investigations.

An artist’s impression of the aerial view of the new Bayswater station. Image: Metronet

A new Bayswater Bridge

‘Bayswater Bridge’. WA company Decmil has also been awarded a significant contract for the Bayswater project.

The King William Street bridge is infamous with trucks frequently failing to clear its 3.8m height. It even has its own website which tracks how many days since it has been hit at howmanydayssincebayswaterbridgehasbeenhit.com/ and each soul is forever portrayed with a picture and often their company name.

In 2020, the Baysie Bridge as it is fondly known has already had four incidences all involving trucks and a shipping container.

The alliance will design and build a new four-platform station and associated track, signalling, civil, drainage and overhead line works.

It will also build a rail turnback for the Forrestfield-Airport Link, a new bridge at the King William Street and Coode Street intersection, and make provisions to support a connection to the Morley-Ellenbrook Line.

With a total project budget of $253 million, the Bayswater Station project is set to support more than 350 jobs.

“Since 2013, the ATA has been arguing for the Australian Transport Safety Bureau to investigate crashes involving heavy vehicles.

“The trucking industry needs more knowledge about the causes of crashes where there are safety lessons to be learned,” he said.

Mr. Smith congratulated NTI on its report and said the data will play an important role in pushing for improved safety outcomes.

“This report tells us that we must never become complacent when it comes to

The Evolve Bayswater Alliance (Coleman Rail) has been awarded the contract to design and build the new Bayswater train station, which includes a new

safety,” Mr. Smith said.

PAYMENT TIMES BILL TO HOLD BIG BUSINESS

ACCOUNTABLE

The Government introduced legislation into Parliament to establish a Payment Times Reporting Framework, requiring 2,500 of Australia’s largest businesses and government enterprises to report how long it takes them to pay a small business.

This move will benefit the transport industry who characteristically operate on tight margins and little capacity to negotiate with large customers.

Whilst this has been a welcomed the move to make payment times more transparent, the legislation does not go far enough according to the ATA.

“Trucking businesses are vulnerable to adverse changes in their payment times, and monitoring schemes have limited effect. They are regularly ignored,” said ATA CEO Ben Maguire.

“For example, the ACCC monitoring of landside port charges is openly mocked by the stevedores, with prices climbing to astronomical levels.”

In a submission on the Payment Times Reporting Framework, the ATA called for a mandatory code for the trucking industry to address payment terms issues facing trucking businesses.

“Given the scope of the problem, however, the Government needs to follow the UK’s approach and include all business to business transactions in mandatory payment terms legislation, with the statutory time period set at 20 days,” Mr. Maguire said.

“Australia’s economic recovery from the pandemic will depend on the nation’s small businesses – but cash flow to them will be more important now than ever before.”