Trucking isn’t just moving a load from one place to another. It’s a journey of a thousand experiences. It’s golden skies, fierce storms, hours of solitude and hard work.
Whether it’s on the road, in the yard, behind the scenes or in the back office, it’s not just a job, but a passion. It’s something you’ve inherited from those who came before you, that has paved the way for the next journey. It’s heritage. It’s a legacy. kenworth.com.au/legacy
12 TRUCK SALES PUSH ON
The foot came off the pedal this month
14 TOLL HIKE FEARS
Has toll reform gone far enough?
28 BRING BACK THE DRIVERS
A look at why drivers are hard to find
32 TRUCK’S POP STAR INSPIRATION
STA Transport’s unique naming ritual
44 GO WEST WITH WESTERN STAR
A trip across the paddock for a big test
50 DRIVING FOR MINERALS
Road train driving grandma mixes it up
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58 AN ELECTRIC VISIT TO MELBOURNE
It’s truck driving, but not as you know it
67 TIPPING INTO BUSINESS
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EDITORIAL
Editor Geoff Crockett
E-mail Geoff.Crockett@primecreative.com.au
Journalist Alex Catalano
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Contributors Warren Aitken, Kate Battocchio, Robert Bell, Frank Black, Rodney Boyd, Warren Clark, Tiarna Condren, Rod Hannifey, Michael Kaine, Ken Wilkie, Kerryn Woods
Cartoonist John Allison
PRODUCTION
Art Director Bea Barthelson
Print IVE Print
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Business Development Manager
Hollie Tinker Ph 0466 466 945
E-mail Hollie.Tinker@primecreative.com.au
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Owner Driver is published by Prime Creative Media
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OwnerDriver
August is here, marking another historic step in what owner drivers can only hope is to be the positive introduction of the second stage of the Closing the Loopholes Act, which will be enforced via the Fair Work Commission.
The intent behind the legislation, which comes into force on August 26, is to ensure a fair go for transport operators when they are negotiating work contracts — to address the power imbalance of employer vs employee, provide a system of recourse around unfair contract disputes and strengthen worker’s rights across a range of activities under the transport umbrella.
The proof of its success or otherwise of the Act will ultimately be decided on the strength of its implementation and its ability to change industry norms to improve pay rates and standards for those delivering the goods every day.
While there’s certainly some scepticism among commentators about how effective the laws will be, it will be the drivers, operators, unions and associations who will ultimately test its merits by making applications to Fair Work and moving to set new standards as quickly as possible (see page 26 for Michael Kaine’s breakdown of what’s next).
Away from the politics, this month’s edition of OwnerDriver takes us from Europe, for the Ciney Truck Show, to Townsville, where a new transport training scheme is aiming to encourage the next generation of workers into the industry and keep them here for the long haul.
Warren Aitken has tracked down another
stunning truck for our Truck of the Month. It’s a work of art curated by the team at STA Transport in celebration of hitting the milestone of 10 trucks for their fleet.
We also welcome Ryco Filters as our new sponsor of the Truck of the Month and look forward to working with the team over the coming months to celebrate the great work of our readers and their rigs.
The ever-present discussion around electric trucks and their role in the transport mix gets a run, with a driver’s view of the latest eActros 300 from Daimler Truck (page 58) and freight group ANC sharing their strategy on going electric, with the help of the owner drivers who work with them, and funding from the Federal government (page 62).
And for those keen for insight into how new model trucks really perform, check out the results of a week-long review of the Western Star 49X after our writer made the journey to Perth and back with a full payload.
The Northern Territory and Western Australian governments are quickly progressing works and planning for the connection of the Outback Way
The Northern Territory government has awarded more than $44 million to local Territory business Aldebaran Contracting, to upgrade and seal a 27km section of the Plenty Highway in Central Australia.
The Outback Way, known as Australia’s longest shortcut, has seven interconnecting roads including the Plenty Highway that cut through the middle of Australia, from Queensland, through to Alice Springs in the NT before finishing in Western Australia.
Designed to improve safety and provide greater access and benefits to remote communities, as well as the tourism, mining and freight sectors, the upgrades are jointly funded by the Northern Territory and Federal governments.
NT chief minister, Eva Lawler says her team is focused on sealing Territory roads, allowing businesses to flourish.
Minister for Infrastructure,
Planning and Logistics Joel Bowden says this major infrastructure project will provide skills, training and employment opportunities for Territorians.
The project aims to support 62 employees including 15 Indigenous employees and 14 apprentices.
The upgrades will see concrete causeways being constructed at the crossings of the Plenty and Marshall Rivers, Bonya Creek, the intersections to Bonya community and the Jervois Station Roadhouse will be formalised, modernised and sealed.
To improve sight distance and address safety concerns, works will also include the relocation and realignment of the Lucy Creek mine intersection.
Bowden says the project will reduce travel time for the community, visitors and all motorists, while improving road safety.
“With the majority of the unsealed
section of the Highway below natural surface level, heavy rains can cause road closures and heavy vehicle restrictions, which is why we will continue to progress the sealing of this key Highway,” he says.
There is also work still to be done on the route that the Outback Highway Development Council has described as ‘Australia’s Route 66’ across Western Australia.
Main Roads WA says road design is currently in progress on the final 100 kilometre section between Warakurna to the WA and NT border, with the program currently being reviewed to ensure completion of sealing by 2032.
With tenders nearly ready to be called to accelerate works, the recommencement of sealing on priority sections near Cosmo Newberry and Warburton will begin next year.
Once complete, developing intermodal hubs and facilities that manage the exchange and storage
of shipping containers over longer journeys will make a new scale of commercial opportunities possible in the Australian outback and across the nation.
Mayor of Boulia in Queensland, Rick Britton, who is a key advocate for the project, says this will offer business and investment opportunities in transport, freight, mining, agriculture, tourism, accommodation, roadhouses, environment and clean energy.
Transport for NSW is performing a trial to allow zero emissions vehicles with increased mass limits on New South Wales roads, with the specifications laid out in a recently released notice.
The trial aims to provide concessions on mass limits for heavy LZEVs operating on the state road network to enable access. With batteries and fuel cells included, these vehicles carry greater weight,
and need to be approved for road access independently of other heavy vehicles.
“Zero emission heavy vehicles require heavier masses than internal combustion engine (ICE) heavy vehicles and are provided an exemption under Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL) as set out in the New South Wales Class 3 Zero Emission Vehicle Mass and Dimension Exemption Notice,” Transport for NSW says in the notice.
“Equivalent network conditions apply to zero emission heavy vehicles and ICE heavy vehicles currently on the network, with the addition of telematics to inform the trial, and some restrictions.
“Zero emission heavy vehicles must operate on their applicable zero emission heavy vehicles mapped network.”
It will be a two-year trial enabling broad access to support fleet transition to zero emission heavy vehicles and provide the evidence-base to inform ongoing access and management of the road network.
At this stage, access is not available to assets owned or maintained by third party or local road managers.
TfNSW says:
• The Notice has been designed following engagement with industry
• There is further work underway to continue to expand the Notice to capture other zero emission heavy vehicles such as twin steers, Truck and Dogs, A-doubles and Performance Based Standards (PBS) vehicles
• The trial applies existing equivalent vehicle type network conditions, and in addition requires single steer axles, limited to eight tonnes, to be fitted with 385mm tyres. Telematics will apply to all vehicles.
Better access and less paperwork are at the heart of a push to allow taller trucks general access to Australia’s road network
The Australian Trucking Association (ATA) has called for changes to the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL) to allow general access to the road network for taller trucks.
It wants to see 4.6m high trucks allowed access without the need for notices or permits, with the current height limit set at 4.3 metres.
ATA CEO Mathew Munro says that increasing heights would increase productivity across the trucking industry and remove the need for operators to apply for more than 1000 permits a year.
“National Transport Commission analysis shows it would save the industry $95,000 per year in permit fees and deliver time savings worth
$91,000 per year,” he says.
“It would also deliver a productivity boost for operators that transport bulky products like retail and refrigerated goods.”
The ATA is aware of concerns around increased risk of overheight incidents, but says that can be managed through the use of signage, enforcement and targeted awareness campaigns.
“Our 4.3m high trucks must already navigate the many road structures that are less than 4.3m high,” Munro says.
“Plus, there are already standard vehicles such as car carriers, livestock trucks and some containers that routinely move
around the network at 4.6m in height.
“The low prevalence of strikes across the tens of thousands of truck movements every single day demonstrates that operators can manage this risk safely.
“In higher risk or higher consequence situations, targeted awareness campaigns are very effective.
“For example, strong collaboration between Road Freight NSW, the
NHVR, Transport for NSW, police and the TWU achieved a dramatic fall in incidents involving overheight trucks in the Sydney tunnel network. There were only four overheight incidents in November 2023, compared to 25 in November 2022.
“We ask every government using the HVNL to agree to the reform so Australia and the trucking industry can benefit, even if they decide to derogate from the law in their own state.”
While June 2023 set records for the amount of trucks delivered in the first half of last year, that number was slightly down this time around
As we head into the second half of calendar year 2024, Australia’s truck sales market is trending slightly down on last year’s record results.
While a number of brands are still going strong, June’s truck sales results have shown an overall 14.8 per cent decrease in sales compared to the same month in 2023.
A total of 6,054 new trucks and heavy vans were delivered in June 2023, versus 5,160 new vehicles in June 2024, as recorded by the latest T-Mark Truck Market Data report released by the Truck Industry Council (TIC).
TIC CEO Tony McMullan says while the June figures were not as strong as they appeared to be trending in May, the results are still strong.
“Whilst June 2024 sales were down, it must be remembered that they were the second-best result ever recorded for the month of June in Australia,” McMullan says.
“We have seen our economy cooling for many months now and
this slower June result may be as a result of the general economic slowdown that we are witnessing across the Australian economy.
“However, it may simply have been a slower month due to other externalities and does not signal an overall trend.
“The coming months will confirm if heavy vehicle sales have reached
a peak for the time being and the market continues to cool, or if June was simply an isolated, slower month.”
Of the total 5,160 new vehicles delivered in June, 1,816 were from the heavy-duty segment, 887 from the medium duty segment and 1,509 with the remaining 948 sales coming from the heavy-duty van market.
“Whilst June 2024 sales were down, it must be remembered that they were the secondbest result ever recorded.”
HEAVY DUTY TRUCKS –
(cab-chassis type vehicles, rigid and prime mover, with three or more axles or two axles and a GVM > 8,000kg AND a combined GCM > 39,000kg)
The Heavy Duty truck segment delivered 1,816 trucks in June this year, down 20.8 per cent on June 2023’s results. Despite the drop, the results were good enough to be noted as the second biggest June sales result on record for the segment.
In the race to be the number one brand Kenworth’s 409 deliveries well and truly out shown Volvo’s 266 for June, but not enough to knock the big Swede off the top
of the chart for the year to date where Volvo’s 1,746 sales so far in calendar year 2024 put it 35 trucks ahead of Kenworth’s 1,711.
Rounding out the top 10 for HD for the month of June were Isuzu (254), Scania (164), Mercedes-Benz (125), Mack (102), Hino (98), UD Trucks (91), Fuso (86) and DAF (71).
MEDIUM DUTY TRUCKS –
(cab-chassis type vehicles with GVM > 8,000kg and a GCM up to and including 39,000kg) Sales in the medium duty segment overall this year continue to sit above 2023 figures, however the June result of 887 sales was down compared to June 2023’s results by 190 trucks.
Year-to-date June 2024 sales of 4,037 is up 1.7 per cent or 66 trucks when compared to the same year-to-date period in 2023.
For June 2024 the top 10 sellers were: Isuzu (424), Hino (249), Fuso (130), Iveco (25), Hyundai (19), UD Trucks (12), Mercedes-Benz (11), MAN (7), Volvo (6), and DAF (4).
LIGHT DUTY TRUCKS –
(cab-chassis type vehicles with GVM of 3,501kg to 8,000kg inclusive)
Of all of the truck segments the Light Duty category has been hardest hit in terms of dropping sales volumes in 2024.
The 1,509 trucks delivered last month fell 525 sales short of June 2023’s record sales result, and year-to-date the 7,093 trucks sold in 2024 is well short of the 8,778 Light Trucks sold for the same period in 2023.
Market leader Isuzu continued its dominance in June’s sale with 686 vehicles delivered, followed, in order of sales by Fuso (237), Hino (221), Iveco (203), Mercedes-Benz (59), Fiat (41), Ford (19), Hyundai (17), Renault (10), Foton Mobility (9) and Volkswagen (7).
KEVIN MUTTON
KRESKAS BRO
The New South Wales government and the Transport Workers Union have responded to a recently released report on Sydney’s road toll network
A report into the impacts of Sydney’s road toll privatisation has been released, with the “poorly-functioning patchwork” of the region’s network set to cost motorists $195 billion over the next 35 years.
The report follows the release of findings from an inquiry into the much-maligned construction of the Rozelle Interchange, where it was found the multi-billion-dollar project was completed despite it being against community interests.
It notes that lack of a unified tolling system across the region has created complexity, inefficiency, inequities and unfairness to all road users, with those in Western Sydney suffering the largest financial impact.
Sydney is the world’s most tolled city, and the current government has vowed to end the “toll mania”.
“Toll reform is critical for Sydney and this is a once in a generation chance to address this issue,” NSW Roads Minister John Graham says.
“Former governments have an attitude of set and forget on tolls, but the result is now a combined burden of $195 billion to be paid out to 2060 and a city that is more congested and more divided.
“Sydney is a place in which people make choices about where they work based on the need to avoid paying tolls. The problem grows each year. Over decades, it will become unsustainable.”
NSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey says the report is another step in the right direction of reforming the city’s tolls.
“Relief began with our $60 toll cap. Today’s report is an important step in reforming an unnecessarily complex and costly system,” Mookhey says.
“Every year motorists are paying $2.5 billion in tolls. Without reform the burden will continue to land heaviest on those who can least afford it.”
Key report recommendations are:
• Tolls should be based on a declining distance basis charged on a per kilometre basis but with the per kilometre rate declining the greater the distance travelled. This would deliver greater fairness to motorists in Western Sydney.
• An infrastructure charge should be introduced for parts of toll roads that have been costly to build e.g. ventilated tunnels, Sydney Harbour Bridge.
• Two-way tolling on the two current Harbour crossings and the Eastern Distributor, with this additional revenue gained being put into the lowering of tolls on the remainder of the network. This will also ensure a consistent tolling and traffic integration approach when the Western Harbour tunnel opens around 2028.
• Decisions on toll setting should be overseen by the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART).
The report’s executive summary states any toll reform should be enacted alongside the recently announced Freight Policy Reform Program to improve the “safety, sustainability and productivity of freight transport”, pending the outcomes of the current two-year rebate trial.
The Transport Workers Union (TWU) also responded to the toll review, welcoming former ACCC chair Allan Fels’ findings as a result of the investigation.
It is in favour of recommendations to establish a governmentowned special authority – a NSW Motorways entity – tasked with the responsibility of improving outcomes and transparency for motorists and to strengthen government and accountability on the toll network.
The TWU believes the potential introduction of heavy vehicle multipliers on Sydney’s harbour crossings would significantly increase costs to trucks and owner-operators using these key gateways.
“Lowering the toll multiplier from three times to two times for middle class heavy vehicles recognises the essential service these drivers provide,” says TWU NSW/QLD state secretary Richard Olsen.
“This change would offer much-needed financial relief to owner-operators already struggling with the cost of living.
“The Independent Toll Review has laid bare the extent to which private company profits have been prioritised over that of motorists.
“With billions projected in tolls over the next 40 years, the need for reforms are clear.
“We call on the NSW government to afford further consideration to the needs of the road transport industry and heavy vehicles operating to create a more egalitarian toll network.”
Truckies using the Kamilaroi Highway in rural New South Wales have been given hope of a new rest area to come online in 2025
The federal and New South Wales governments are combining to commit $1.75 million to an upgrade to the Yambie Lagoon heavy vehicle rest area along the Kamilaroi Highway between Walgett and Brewarrina in the state’s north-west.
Works are set to begin in early 2025, in a move which the government says will improve the quality of heavy vehicle rest stops are consultation with the road freight industry.
Federal Assistant Transport Minister Carol Brown says fatigue needs to be addressed in NSW.
“Driver fatigue is one of the top three factors leading to fatal crashes on NSW roads, contributing to at least 21 per cent of heavy vehicle fatal crashes in regional NSW in the five years since December 2019,” she says.
“The federal government’s Heavy Vehicle Safety and Productivity Program supported projects that aim to improve access to rest areas for drivers of larger vehicles, providing more opportunities to manage fatigue and their regulatory requirements.
“We have now established the new Safer Local Road and Infrastructure Program – which merges the Heavy Vehicle Safety and Productivity Program and Bridges Renewal Program with funding increased from $150 million to $200 million per year.”
The Yambie Lagoon upgrade is muchneeded, as there are currently no toilet or rest facilities for more than 120 kilometres across this section of the Kamilaroi Highway.
Heavy vehicle industry representatives were consulted in early 2020 to provide input into the proposed locations of future rest stop opportunities on the Kamilaroi Highway between Walgett and Bourke.
“Rural freight routes such as the Kamilaroi Highway through this region are essential for the movement of produce, livestock and other goods, and we respect that these corridors are the workplace of heavy vehicle drivers,” says NSW Roads Minister Jenny Aitchison.
“This essential upgrade will transform the existing informal rest area on the eastbound shoulder of the Kamilaroi Highway heading towards Walgett and will involve building toilet and shelter facilities as well as picnic tables and extended parking for heavy and light vehicles.”
The $1.75 million is being jointly funded by the state and federal governments.
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Nominations are now open for the Australian Transport Association’s (ATA) 2024 Craig Roseneder Award for Technical and Maintenance Excellence, with a trip to the United States set to be awarded to the eventual winner.
The award is part of the ATA’s National Trucking Awards, with the winner to receive a fully paid trip to the United States to attend the 2025 US Technology and Maintenance Council Annual Meeting and Transportation Technology Exhibition in Nashvile, Tennessee.
The exhibition is held between March 10-13 and the winner will receive full registration, return airfares, accommodation and $1,500
(AUD) spending money.
The ATA encourages anyone working in the technical and maintenance fields to apply for the prestigious award.
“The award is open to any individual who works full-time in the Australian trucking industry for a trucking company, supplier or commercial workshop as a workshop manager, mechanic, or provides support within the maintenance field for heavy vehicles,” ATA Chair Mark Parry says.
“Since 1998 the Craig Roseneder Award has honoured the professionalism and commitment of the men and women who work behind the scenes in Australia’s trucking
workshops.” Past winner of the Craig Roseneder Award, Dennis Roohan, says the chance to attend the United States and engage with international industry leaders is an invaluable experience.
“The ability to rub shoulders with people who have 40, 50, 60 thousand pieces of equipment in their fleet is unbelievable,” Roohan says.
“The knowledge you can gain from talking to these people in how they run their maintenance, how they run
their people is invaluable.”
Nominations for the award must be submitted before midnight (Canberra time) on Sunday, August 25, 2024.
The winner of the 2024 Craig Roseneder Award will be announced on Tuesday, October 22 at the Castrol Awards dinner as part of the ATA’s 2024 Technology and Maintenance Conference.
Nominations for the award can be made on the ATA’s website.
Slattery Asset Recovery in conjunction with Paccar Finance are offering a reward program for several Trucks and trailers. A reward of $10,000 per Truck or Trailer combination is offered for specific information leading to the location and successful recovery of the below equipment. The equipment was held by Xpress Group Australia Pty Ltd (In Liquidation) and has been reported as stolen with the NSW Police with last known location 50 Victor Avenue, Kemps Creek, NSW, 2178. EQUIPMENT LISTING: ID NO.DESCRIPTION
HR1032017 DAF FAD CF85 fitted with Fuel TankerXB99DI XLRAD85MCGG121308
PM342018 Kenworth T610SAR Prime Mover XN41SM 6F5000000JA461501
PM362018 Kenworth T610SAR Prime Mover XN76RO 6F5000000JA461944
PM702021 Kenworth T610SAR Prime Mover XN45ZQ 6F5000000MA470098
*The assets may be unregistered or have different registration plates to those listed.
If you have relevant information, please contact the below number or email address. Leave a message with your full name and best contact number. Information will be treated as confidential. Anonymous phone calls will not be followed up. Specific details must be provided to receive a reward should your information lead to a successful recovery of equipment. Contact Patrick Symons • M 0498 760 201 • E psymons@slatteryauctions.com.au
Truck Show Ciney 2024 attracted truckies from all over Europe and a few people from the other side of the world, including our favourite truck lover, Warren Aitken
I’m trying something a little different here for this article. Normally once I have attended a truck show away from home, I will wait until I am sitting at the airport on the return leg, where I’ll nibble on a $14 ham and cheese sandwich, sip away on an $8 bottle of water and then start putting my thoughts down on paper, metaphorically speaking — the truth is it all gets typed into a laptop as its grammar software is much better than mine.
Anyway, this article is a little different because I just can’t wait for the airport. That’s still 15 hours away. I am already back at my accommodation and extremely keen to get all my opinions and evaluations down. Not just on my first ever jaw-dropping Truck Show Ciney experience, ‘The Temple of Show Trucks’, but also on the experiences leading up to the truck show. I came to Belgium for a truck show and am leaving with more than just several thousand photos and a maxed-out duty-free alcohol allocation.
Firstly, I need to place a shout-out to my extremely helpful and tolerant Uber driver/ Air BnB host/ Tour guide/ photoshoot pimp/ translator, William Siben. Like me, William is another truck nut and fellow photographer. He’s also the host of The ShowTruck Channel and for the second time has played host to my European adventures. This year he arranged several interesting stories that will soon be flowing through these pages, and he also made sure I used my time in Belgium to experience a bit more than just the glory of gorgeous trucks.
Whilst in trucking circles Belgium is most known for the Truck Show Ciney, and for the instant 15-day loss of licence if they catch you on your phone a second time — Belgium is also steeped in military history. I took some time out from chasing trucks to visit and appreciate a couple of historic battle sites on our way to Ciney.
The first site was one very well known to Australians, Hill 60 and Caterpillar Hill. The fighting that occurred there throughout WWI was extremely intense and significant. In 1917 The 1st Australian Tunnelling Company played a vital role in tunnelling under all the ground that I visited and detonating around 450-ton of explosives, destroying the German positions and demolishing the hills. It was a major feat, and it was an honour to just soak in the history of a site like that.
The second location I added to my must-see list was the small town called Mesen, to visit The Messines Ridge Memorial. This memorial was erected to honour the New Zealand soldiers who played a significant role in the successful Battle of Messines. Visiting these two sites, whilst on my way to view one of the leading truck shows in Europe was an extremely humbling experience. It was an honour to stand where brave
Top left: The things you see in Belgium. This is how you set up a second hand truck dealership
Middle, L to R: At 81 years old, John Thomas still loves to bring some of his family’s trucks to events like Ciney. That trailer in the back, it’s actually a fully selfcontained motor home; I couldn’t understand a single thing the Italian drivers had to say, but their trucks spoke volumes
Bottom, L to R: I was surprised to find only a couple of MANs during my entire trip. Though these two made up in quality for what was lacking in quantity; The ‘Torpedo’ trucks are becoming increasingly popular in Europe. None more so than this awesome Over the Top themed Scania
that feeling across. I came for the titillating trucks, sure, but being able to soak up so much history, so much Anzac history, is not just a privilege, it is a necessity.
Feeling full of pride in the Australian and Kiwi flag, I rolled in to Ciney with a smile a mile wide. Then I saw some of the trucks lined up waiting outside the truck show venue, and my smile broke several muscles as it extended off my face. Yes, I know, bonnets were barely represented and the stainless was somewhat scarce, but the Europeans know how to decorate a truck. Not just outside either, but I will get to that.
Let us crack into the truck show breakdown. In case you hadn’t picked up on it beforehand the Truck Show Ciney is known as the Temple of Show Trucks. The best of the best gets invited along to this small country town show and in that sense the show did not disappoint. The quality of the trucks on display really does have to be seen to be believed. The difference in the styling from country to country is extremely evident as well. With trucks from places like Holland, Switzerland, England, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, Austria and, of course, hometown Belgium, there is more diversity than a Taylor Swift concert.
The show is held at the Ciney Expo Centre, a huge indoor arena with a massive car park. This means the show is spread between both indoor and outdoor trucks. Trucks from all over Europe apply each year, and can apply for bobtail or full unit, as well as applying for indoor or outdoor. Once again, diversity is the key in Belgium. The organisers of the show go through hundreds of applications and narrow it down to around 300 lucky entrants, putting around two-thirds outside and a third inside. Most of the trailer units get placed out the back, but as you can see via the photos, there were a couple that got the privilege of staying safe and dry in the inner sanctum.
The show officially opens to the public on the Saturday morning, around 10am. The trucks themselves don’t start rolling into the Expo ground until around 7am. Most of the entrants arrived on the Friday and after a bit of washing and polishing they proceeded to spend the Friday night conducting their own truck show/drinking festival.
The Expo centre is aligned with the Ciney cattle yards and aside from providing plenty of room to park up all of the entrants before the show, it also offers the advantage of allowing access to some wash facilities.
After the last sale on Friday, the cattle yards hired out the wash bays to all the trucks that had driven in through a shocking day of rain. Yea. Belgium weather was a lot like Sydney, brief outbursts of rain followed by occasional drizzle and a scattering of showers. It was quite the sight to see a line of dirty lorries queued up like a bunch of bargain hunters at the Aldi midweek specials sales - three or four trucks deep, just waiting on someone to finish so they could swarm in for a bath. There was water and whiskey, bubbles and beer, sponges and sodas. Music was blaring, horns were playing the sounds of many local tribes. It was a massive car wash party.
The European truckies, and especially the Scottish and Irish — I’m looking at you Ian Mckellan and Chris Bradfield, are pretty much professionals at this party lifestyle and come Saturday morning the sore heads were ignored and everyone was lined up to get in, get parked up and get back on it.
Once all the trucks were in, the gates were closed, and the
crowds started to flock in. There was a constant parade of people throughout the day and those that had popped home to rest their weary feet were back at night for the lights and fireworks show.
The big point of difference between Australia and Belgium is that when we do a lights and fireworks show, we are all wrapped up around 8pm. You’ve even got time to watch the footy if you are so inclined. However, in Belgium, the fireworks show could not start until 11pm. That’s how long you have to wait for it to be dark. Ridiculous.
Day two of the show is very much the same as day one, only in reverse and without fireworks. There is a prize giving held within the hall and I swear they had every trophy there to award. By ‘every trophy’ I am meaning every one ever made. There was a massive number of trophies, considering over in the EU there really are only two major truck show players — ‘Scania’ and ‘Trucks that aren’t Scania’. I am fully aware that over in Australia, most truck shows are dominated by the KW Bug in a similar way.
Well, I have outlined the show itself, I guess it is time for me to express my views on the show as a whole. Meh. I think that would be a fair word. Don’t get me wrong, the number of trucks, the quality of the trucks, the flat-out coolness of the trucks, that was second to none. We could learn a lot about truck show prep from some of the truck nuts over there. The show itself, factoring in the 20+ hour commute, was good but no real “wow” factor. As a Gen X affiliate, I know I am not meant to need constant entertainment, and I may have been spoilt by last year’s Truck Star festival, but I did feel the show was missing a little something extra in the entertainment folder.
Amongst the truck show fraternity over in Europe, Ciney Truck Show is very highly regarded. The overall consensus there is that Ciney doesn’t have the politics of many other shows and is a great place for a lot of these guys to catch up. However, as a tourist who had travelled some 16,000+km to get there, politics really don’t factor in to my enjoyment of a show.
When you look at the facilities on hand, I must admit there was some awesome food vans out the front of the expo center. Though, with the amount of people visiting the show there was quite the lineup to grab your lunch. After a long wait for an amazing fresh pasta dish, I was shocked to learn that none of the food vans sold drinks. No waters, Cokes or anything. You could get a beer from the beer tent, but if you wanted fluids to go with your lunch you needed to head back inside and line up again.
The difficulty in getting access to fluids did have one advantage though. It meant you weren’t continually queuing up for the one lot of toilet facilities on offer. Unless they had secret toilets somewhere, it was well under prepared. If there were extra restrooms hidden somewhere they were very well hidden, because I walked that area more times than my old legs could bear, just trying to find a toilet or vacant bush.
For me the highlight of the show was actually the end and the emersion of the truck spotting fraternity as the lorries rolled out.
You will notice the photo taken from the centre roundabout on the exit from the show. This was taken at the start of the departure convoy. The sheer numbers of truck spotters already endangering themselves, and others, in order to get photos as the trucks sooted it up at launch. It was unreal. I had to return to the expo, but I was told the numbers swelled a couple of hours later.
All in all, I had an awesome experience as a whole. I think I if you happened to be floating around Belgium and the show was on, then definitely put down your Saucijzenbroodje and go check it out. I met some awesome people, made plenty of jokes about riding kangaroos to work, drank a fair bit of Belgium Beer and took more than enough photos.
I got to see some unbelievable trucks and learnt that the Europeans have as much passion and pride in their trucks as anyone over this side of the world. I can also attest that they get more smoke out of their V8s than I’ve seen out of any Series 60 or E9.
The Temple of Show Trucks has some amazing trucks and the Europeans would give anyone a run for their money when it comes to passion and pride.
The National Roadworthiness Survey is underway and will run into September 2024 across all states and territories.
Authorised officers from the NHVR and partner agencies are conducting mandatory random mechanical inspections of approximately 8,500 of Australia’s trucks, buses and other Special Purpose Vehicles.
The National Roadworthiness program aims to drive safety and efficiency improvements to the mechanical condition of Australia’s heavy vehicle fleet.
For more information visit nhvr.gov.au/nrs
Livestock carriers are seeking access to the Carnarvon
with
The Livestock, Bulk and Rural Carriers Association (LBRCA) has opened discussions with Transport for New South Wales (TfNSW) to get level 2 road trains access to the Carnarvon Highway, along central Queensland and NSW.
The association is seeking access between Mungindi and Moree, which will open up NSW to larger vehicles and greater freight efficiency.
LBRCA president Wade Lewis says they have been advocating for the road train access since the Queensland government committed to building an Inland Freight Route (IFR) from Charters Towers to Mungindi.
“We knew the IFR was being upgraded to accommodate big multi-combinations, so we wanted to get our side of the fence up-to-scratch too,” he said in an LBRCA update.
However, a number of issues have arisen, particularly with a rail provider, over potential disruption that these larger road trains may cause. There is a level
crossing in the area, which rail track owner UGL is particularly worried about.
The Australian Trucking Association (ATA) recently released a petition to call on the federal government to provide greater visibility at level crossings and on trains to prevent incidents between rail and road transport.
“Crashes at level crossings often result from poor visibility, leading to tragic consequences that could be prevented with better lighting and reflective materials,” ATA senior adviser Chris Wren says.
“These visibility improvements are essential for pedestrians and motorists near railway crossings, and for train passengers and crew.”
“Currently, 80 per cent of the 23,000 railway crossings in Australia do not have warning lights, making it essential for trains to have adequate illumination,” the ATA stated in the petition notice.
“Between 1 July 2014 and 31 December 2022 across Australia’s
level crossings there were 7,839 near hits, 322 collisions, 39 fatalities and 49 serious injuries involving either road vehicles or pedestrians.”
OwnerDriver spoke to TfNSW executive director of freight Scott Greenow to get a better understanding of the issues being targeted in the engagement between the two bodies.
Greenow says the sheer length (53.5 metres long) of level 2 road trains has been an issue when considering potential road access along the Carnarvon Highway.
“In such a remote part of Northern New South Wales, there’s a fair bit of livestock, particularly coming out of Queensland,” he says.
“Queensland has a much greater access across their network for type 2 road trains. They’re prescriptive vehicles under the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL) and they’re quite dominantly used across Western and regional Queensland. There’s very generous access for them there.
“They operate on roads that are very low volume in traffic, don’t have a lot of other vehicles on the roads and they’re relatively poorperforming in comparison to the
best vehicles on the road.
“The challenge we have at the moment, which we’re working through with the LBRCA and the rail infrastructure manager, is that Carnarvon has a rail level crossing.
“It’s not suitable for the length of vehicle that wants to access it. The complexity there is that the rail line is not heavily used.”
Part of the push from the LBRCA to get level 2 road trains approved on the Carnarvon Highway is due to the disparity in road access for them between NSW and Queensland.
While Queensland’s inland freight routes allow extensive access to those road trains, NSW is very limited in comparison, Greenow explains.
“The approved route for level 2 road trains in NSW is one road and maybe 150km,” he says.
“It’s on the Mitchell Highway, from the Queensland border down to North Bourke, because there is a significant change in performance between type 1 and type 2 road trains.
“We’ve got quite an extensive network for type 1 road trains. Over the last few years, we opened up the entire Newell Highway for all types of type 1 road trains.
“They introduce a whole lot of risk that our network isn’t built to mitigate at the moment.
“That doesn’t exclude us looking at Carnarvon, which is an isolated location. We would be looking at a particular corridor for a need with a very managed kind of access.
“We will balance a number of different things like the level of traffic, the sidelines, the signage
“Queensland has a much greater access across their network for type 2 road trains.”
elements and other mitigations we can do to facilitate access.
“That process, once you go outside the standards, there’s a significant level of expectation that we drill through each of those sub-optimal elements before we would be able to support the access.”
One of the other considerations TfNSW has had to look at when analysing the Carnarvon Highway access has been the continued Performance Based Standards (PBS) scheme review.
While it has been ongoing since 2019, led by the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR), government and industry have seen some serious steps forward recently.
The Ken Kanofski 2022 HVNL review aimed to provide transport ministers with a clearer picture of reform needed across Australia’s freight task, including the types of vehicles on the road.
Greenow says getting more productive road trains on the freight network could help to unlock better access.
“The last part of the conversation is that we’re in the process of going through the draft heavy vehicle access policy,” he says.
“It’s not necessarily as suitable for those in the industry looking
to seek access now, but in the future. We’re trying to encourage and enable a much easier path for people to be able to use much more innovative PBS vehicles that are much more productive and able to achieve access with the current network.
“For example, it would be a PBS level 3 performing vehicle that is up to 53.5 to 60 metres long. What that would do is introduce all the productivity industry needs to move through that corridor.
“It would alleviate the issues we have with lane widths, shoulder widths, turning templates and intersections. It would mean that the length of the vehicle is still an issue at level crossings, we’d still have those mitigations.
“We’re trying to look for avenues not just to alleviate this issue today, in what we can allow to access Carnarvon in the current vehicle fleet, but also trying to make sure we take a systems approach to all of NSW’s roads.
“We want to see how we can get a productivity, safety and sustainability increase in a way where we partner with industry to see what innovative vehicles we can accommodate in our network. We want to give them very clear direction and clear options that they can also contribute to.”
August 2024 is a month we’ll remember because it’s a month many in our industry have waited 20 years for.
Real transport reform is right in front of us when the Albanese Government’s Closing Loopholes laws take effect on August 26.
Of course, we didn’t know 20 years ago that that’s how long it would take us to get here. We just knew we’d keep fighting no matter how long it took.
Despite setbacks and differences in approach, we can be proud that as an industry we are now in grasping distance of an incredible tool to begin making a better transport industry — for all participants.
We’ve now won a Road Transport Division of the Fair Work Commission. In itself, that is big. It is an acknowledgement that this is the most dangerous industry in Australia, a unique industry, a vital industry.
Here’s how it will all work.
Some of the new rights as part of the system will automatically kick in to protect transport jobs.
We know transport operators and drivers are under immense pressure from the top of the supply chain. Often this involves unfair contracts. From February, drivers and operators will have protections if there’s been an unfair contract in place, or if a contract has been unfairly terminated.
This will also give gig workers — like delivery riders and rideshare drivers — rights against being unfairly deactivated from a platform. Having protections like these in the gig economy is hugely important for everyone in the transport industry to ensure we end the destructive undercutting and raise the floor, protecting good operators and promoting job security.
As well as these automatic rights, a dedicated Road Transport Expert Panel will have the task of establishing and maintaining industry standards to execute a new Road Transport Objective required by the legislation. This objective is to ensure that the road transport industry is safe, sustainable and viable.
There are different ways standards can be established, an acknowledgement of the diversity of this industry and the unique settings that we have to get right. Importantly, all transport workers and industry participants can be covered by the system.
The first is through Awards. The Expert Panel has the power to vary all 5 transport
Awards, covering businesses and employees to enforce the Road Transport Objective.
But as we know, this doesn’t capture all areas of the industry. Many drivers are not employees. Many don’t wish to be. So for owner-drivers and “employee-like” gig workers, the Expert Panel has the power to protect them through Minimum Standards Orders (MSOs).
Importantly, the Expert Panel is required by the legislation to balance the protections it puts in place for employees, ownerdrivers and gig transport workers to ensure no group is placed at a disadvantage in the market.
The Expert Panel can also establish standards for all contract chain parties through a Contract Chain Order. This power is crucial to the system. It will ensure that those wealthy clients at the top of the supply chain — like Aldi, like Amazon — who have been the outliers in opposing these laws, pay their fair share in the industry and stop the squeeze that puts deadly pressure on operators and drivers.
Industry consultation is a key feature at the heart of this system.
The Expert Panel which sets standards is guided by a Road Transport Advisory Group, consisting of industry bodies. This advisory group must be consulted before standards are created. This industry advice aspect of the system is far-reaching, with topic- or sector-specific sub-committees to be formed to guide the Expert Panel towards the most appropriate solutions in different areas.
Of course, you can have the best system
in the world, but it doesn’t mean much unless it can be enforced.
That’s why the Expert Panel will also have the ability to resolve disputes between any contract chain parties. That’s also where protection from unfair, harsh or unjust termination of contract comes in for owner drivers and gig workers — so that workers can raise issues in confidence and have security of engagement.
So, from August 26, the industry can begin making applications for standards to be set in road transport. Every step of the way there are mechanisms built in to ensure that these changes are industryled, and that they work in practicality.
We’ve been in discussions with employers and associations from across the transport industry, ready to make applications as soon as we’re able.
There are areas it makes sense to set standards as soon as possible.
We’ll be setting fairer payment terms so operators and drivers don’t have to wait 120 days to be paid.
We’ll be putting in fair settings in the food delivery sector to tackle exploitation and ensure the rest of the industry doesn’t get dragged down.
We’ll be tackling the parcel delivery or “last mile” sector, where we’ve seen Amazon Flex come in and threaten this space, undercutting good, responsible operators.
This first set of applications is just the beginning of the plan to reform our industry.
Change, of course, takes time.
From February protections against unfair contracts and unfair contract terminations apply.
And it will take time to make applications for standards, and for those standards to take effect.
But if we want to get things right that time will be worthwhile. Already the world is watching to see how we deal with issues that have become existential threats in other countries. Already the industry is starting to factor in the new system – talking about the new standards that might emerge, getting ready change.
We are already ahead of the curve.
The crux of these news laws is that industry will be involved and consulted every step of the way. That’s how we got this far, and it’s how we’ll make road transport safer and fairer into the future.
Those working in driver training and recruitment believe there is a number of trends that are contributing to the driver shortage. Alex Catalano reports
There are currently an estimated 200,000 truck drivers working in Australia. And this is still not even close to enough.
A simple search for ‘truck driver’ on any popular job website reveals nearly 20,000 results. You may find different facts and figures elsewhere, but it’s clear that there are more and more positions that need filling.
Couple this with the ageing workforce (the federal government estimates the average age of truck drivers at 47 – the national average for all jobs is 39) and you’ve got a clear crisis on your hands.
OwnerDriver spoke to Jess Hubbard, the director at Melbourne-based Effective Freight Solutions, about trends she has seen emerge in driver recruitment.
Hubbard’s previous role was as a recruitment and HR consultant for a bulk commodities transport business which services primarily the eastern seaboard. She was primarily in charge of
advertising for and recruiting drivers for long haul interstate work.
Those jobs were particularly intense, but consisted of work that many interstate drivers can probably relate to — far too much time on the road and away from home.
“The drivers I recruited would often have to spend six nights a week sleeping in the truck, and then they’d have one day a week at home,” Hubbard explains.
“It’s pretty intense. It’s a lot of time on the road, and away from family. It was challenging to find drivers who were wanting to do that type of work and spend that that amount of time away from home and away from family.”
Hubbard believes that some of the recruiting processes contributed to the struggle to get more highly qualified drivers behind the wheel. They would have drivers applying from all over Australia, who would then have to make their own way to the
business to perform a number of pre-requisite tests.
“After submitting a resume, we would require drivers to come to an induction so that they could do a drug and alcohol test and a driving test, and then we would allocate a truck to them,” she explains.
“You’d have to get people that were based all around Australia to come to Albury and New South Wales to do a driving induction. That was another challenge, they’ve got to come all that way to get allocated a truck.
“We had problems because it’s an ageing workforce. It’s not a highly desirable position anymore for people to get into. It’s hard for people with families, on physical health and wellbeing as well. There’s major mental health issues within the industry.
“Being very isolated away from other people, and driving for sometimes days at a time without
really having much interaction with others, is a bit of a problem.”
One of the other issues the industry continues to face is the search for experienced and skilled drivers.
While the federal government looks to continue to invest in rail, industry experts still maintain there will always be freight that needs to be moved by road.
Australia’s unique geography has always proven to be a challenge, with swathes of near-empty inland and significant distance between capital cities and economic centres.
While everyone continues to search for the most efficient way to move freight, it’s no easy task to find drivers experienced enough in interstate driving or getting behind the wheel of a road train.
“When I was recruiting for the business I worked for, we always required two years minimum experience,” Hubbard says.
“And there were quite a few drivers that would call and ask, ‘Well, how am I meant to get experience if everyone wants experience?’ And I think that’s really true.”
Hubbard says the pathways to get drivers into the transport industry, particularly in freight haulage, need to be better defined in order to continue to attract new drivers.
“If you’re wanting to get experience in other lines of the supply chain logistics industry, you can start off working in a warehouse, for example, as a picker and packer. And you don’t need much experience to be able to do that, but then you might be able to progress into, eventually, driving a forklift, for example.
“But if you’re wanting to get into being a driver, a truck driver, then, if you don’t have parents or family members or someone close that you can kind of learn from, then how are you meant to get that experience. Being able to come in through different avenues would be very beneficial for the industry.”
“I DON’T THINK THERE’S ENOUGH POSITIVITY OUT THERE ABOUT WHAT THE TRANSPORT INDUSTRY CAN DO AS A CAREER.”
OwnerDriver also spoke to Kate Beck, co-owner and director of Beck’s Transport Training, a Canberra-based heavy vehicle licensing and training business.
Beck’s is a family-owned and operated business which deals with heavy vehicle licensing for the ACT and surrounding New South Wales from light rigids all the way through to multicombination.
Through the business, Kate works with a wide range of people looking to either obtain or upgrade their licence, from “anyone from school teachers who drive the coaster buses to excursions right through to those that have been in the industry for a while and are looking to upgrade to the next level”.
She says that in the ACT and surrounds, Beck’s has noticed an upwards trend in people coming from outside the transport industry looking to get a heavy vehicle licence.
“At the moment we’ve seen a growing demand for medium and heavy rigids, a lot of people who are at the starting point coming into the industry,” Kate says.
“Probably over the last two months it’s been our biggest demand of bookings. A lot of them are new to the industry and not attached to companies. They’re looking for employment afterwards.
“That’s an increase I don’t think we’ve seen for about six to eight months. I think it’s fantastic. The more people we can encourage to see the industry as a career and not just a pit stop job, the better.
“I don’t think there’s enough positivity out there about what the transport industry can do as a career. To see people changing that attitude and getting a start and seeing where they can go, it’s going in an encouraging direction.”
TOP: The driver shortage is concerning experts in recruitment and training
LEFT: The demand for licences for smaller rigids is on the rise
Volvo’s new product range will be at the forefront of one of the world’s biggest transport exhibitions later this year
Volvo is set to show off its global product range at the IAA 2024 exhibition in Hannover, Germany in September this year.
It will show trucks with battery-electric powertrains, fuel cells and renewable fuels in combustion engines as a part of its decarbonisation strategy.
Volvo will have the new FH Aero range on display, recently launched for Europe, Asia and Africa including electric- and biofuel powered variants. It will be the first time for European customers to get a look at the Volvo VNL.
“I’m excited to see the reactions from customers and media on our new truck ranges and future technologies,” says president of Volvo Trucks Roger Alm.
“Our line-up at this year’s IAA will show the global strength of the Volvo Group and will demonstrate our commitment to reaching zero emissions and zero accidents – both are equally important for the success of our customers.”
The new Volvo FM Low Entry will also on display, Volvo’s first truck developed only with a batteryelectric powertrain. Volvo says it offers improved
visibility for greater safety in the busy city environment.
Volvo’s FH16 Aero will be shown with the all-new D17 17-litre highly efficient engine, which Volvo says will add power while reducing fuel consumption and emissions. This truck has been designed for the toughest tasks and optimised productivity, and it is certified for HVO (Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil) and biodiesel B100.
The company will also demonstrate its upcoming e-axle technology, built for Volvo’s next-generation battery-electric and fuel cell electric trucks.
The Volvo line-up at IAA will consist of eight trucks:
• Volvo FH Aero Electric 4×2 with Camera Monitor System (CMS)
• Volvo FH16 Aero 4×2 with HVO-fuel, XXL cab and CMS
• Volvo FMX Electric 6×4 with a 3-way tipper
• Volvo FM Low Entry 6×2 with skip loader
• Volvo FM Gas-powered 4×2 with CMS
• Volvo FE Electric 4×2 with skip loader
• Volvo VNL 860, with full specification
• Volvo’s Fuel Cell test truck
HAs a part of its partnership with the Supercars Championship, Hino Australia is supplying a new truck for race days
ino Australia debuted a new 300 Series Hybrid Electric Tilt Tray Recovery Vehicle at the Supercars Sydney SuperNight event from 19-21 July.
Compared to an equivalent diesel truck, Hino says the 300 Series Hybrid Electric can deliver up to 20 per cent in fuel savings and emissions reduction. A wide range of models are available from the car-licenced 4.5 tonne GVM, up to medium rigidlicenced 8.5 tonne GVM.
The Hybrid Electric Recovery Vehicle is fitted with a unique Kyokuto Single Car carrier body with a tilt tray slide that allows the tray to slide off the back of the vehicle and for loading work to be performed at
almost any angle down to zero degrees.
“The Kyokuto body is unique and relatively new to Australia – it has been selected as it meets the exacting operational requirements of Supercar races and will ensure the safe and prompt removal of crashed Supercars and other race cars,” says president and CEO of Hino Australia Richard Emery.
“One of the major benefits of the tilt slide is that, once the tray is on the ground, loading can be done at a near zero degree angle and from the ground eliminating the risk of falling from heights.
“As part of our long-term partnership with Supercars, we have provided a 500 Series Standard Cab recovery vehicle for the last five years – the 300
Towing off the track. Image: Hino Australia/Supplied
Series Hybrid Electric is a natural progression that ties in with Supercars sustainability strategy.”
“We’re thrilled to welcome Hino’s innovative Hybrid Electric Tilt Tray into our Supercars recovery fleet,” says Supercars COO Tim Watsford.
“This marks a significant step forward in our commitment to sustainability and efficiency.
“This partnership underscores our dedication to embracing advancements that benefit both our sport and the environment.
“This addition to our fleet confirms a significant milestone for Supercars and we look forward to utilising their advanced features to ensure seamless recovery operations at our events.”
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Ilove my job. I know I have said that more times than anyone cares to read, so I have that ‘broken record’ thing going. But I stand by it, I really do love my job. In particular, I love the opportunities it affords me.
Firstly, I get to photograph some pretty cool trucks. I mean seriously cool trucks, like ‘Waylon Jennings driving with Big Bird riding shotgun in a truck’ level of cool trucks. Google that image and thank me later. Secondly, along with photographing some of Australia’s finest trucks, I get the opportunity
to meet the people behind the trucks, and I get to sit down and hear some truly inspiring and motivating stories. It’s being able to share those personal journeys that makes me appreciate and love my job.
Hence, I am starting this story with an acknowledgement of my privilege and a massive thank you to Steve and Tracey Armstrong for sharing their story with me and for letting me photograph the latest truck to join their company. The eye-catching, jaw-dropping flagship of the fleet, a massive Kenworth
T909 appropriately named ‘Track 18 on Pink’s Greatest Hits So Far Album’
Alright, that’s not actually the name of the truck. I am however fully aware of the difficulties placed on my editor if I keep referring to the official name that Steve and Tracey bestowed on their newest 909. You will learn that all the STA trucks are named after song titles or lyrics. Each name has a significant memory or meaning to Steve and Tracey, and the latest is no exception. This new 909 is carrying the name of Pink’s smash hit F##kin Perfect. The name may be written on the truck, laser cut into the interior and just plain obvious by the look of it,
When Steve and Tracey Armstrong set about naming their newest truck, they found inspiration in the song list of rock star Pink. Warren Aitken writes
but out of consideration for my editor, I shall just refer to it as ‘Track 18 on Pink’s Greatest Hits So Far album’ or Track 18 for short. Then there is a lot less redacting my editor has to do. Sound good, let us move on then.
The STA origin story
Steve and Tracey Armstrong are the couple behind the STA in STA Trucking, the company they started back in February 2012. Steve has been in the industry since about a week before he was born. His grandad was a truckie, his dad was a truckie and whilst there was a brief time where Steve tooled up as a mechanic, there really was very little
risk that Steve would end up anything less than a truckie himself. On the other side of the wedding band is the lovely Tracey. Tracey is another one of those wonderful wives who had slightly less than zero interest in trucks until she met her other half.
“We met in 2009 I think, I had no interest in trucks. I had an interest in Steve though,” laughed Tracey.
It must have been a very strong interest I should point out. Whether it was Steve’s long-gone flowing locks of auburn hair or his unmistakable boyish charisma I can’t say, but it was enough for Tracey to start their relationship by committing to a week in the truck with Steve.
“Steve was doing grain at the time, I thought I would spend the week with him, help me get to know him better, but he spent most of the time on the UHF to his mate he was travelling with,” remembers Tracey.
“We were just in a day cab truck as well, so we’d sleep in our swags under the truck. I remember one time when it rained, and Steve put the bins up and we slept in the bins. It was quite funny watching me climb into the bins.”
A week in a day-cab truck with your partner will test any relationship much less a brand new one, even more so for a newbie like Tracey who had no transport pedigree behind her at all — as was evident from another of Tracey’s memories: “There was one time there we were weighing off, we were too heavy. So, Steve said get out of the truck, so I was outside the truck, he was throwing stuff out of the truck to try and get our weight down. And then he turns around and says, ‘Get off the weighbridge’. I
“We met in 2009 I think, I had no interest in trucks. I had an interest in Steve though.”
was standing on the side of the weighbridge,” said Tracey with a smile, “Steve informed me for future reference I’m the same weight in the truck as I am standing on the side. I didn’t know. I’d never been in one.”
That first week may have been a steep learning curve for Tracey and Steve but it also showed how well the two worked together and how aligned their future plans were. That compatibility and shared drive would lead to the creation of their own family business.
At the time when Steve had Tracey sleeping in a swag out in the back blocks of Millmerran, he was working in partnership with his dad, under the banner of J & S Armstrong Transport.
“I’d bought my first truck back in 2002,” recalls Steve. “On the phone to the old man after a couple of beers, we decided to buy a truck. It was a second-hand K100G. Back then there were heaps of people looking for towies, so we went two-up all over Australia.”
Over the next few years, the father and son partnership grew to as much as three trucks — doing everything from
Opposite top: Steve and Tracey Armstrong have come a long way in a short time and take immense pride in not just their trucks, but also in the service they provide
Above & right: Check out the custom Pink CB handles, which match the truck perfectly and are easy to see in the dark. Win/win
Below: ‘Track 18’ is specked up for the double road train work, whether that’s Brisbane to Adelaide or Brisbane across the paddock to Perth
B-double express work to flat top and bulk work.
Steve worked under the J & S Armstrong banner for 10 years and learnt a hell of a lot about running a transport company. “I have a lot of self-taught management skills and developed a drive to succeed.”
In 2012, with the backing of his now wife, and her new-found appreciation for trucking, Steve and Tracey branched out on their own and formed STA Trucking.
“I had a purple T401 that I was running in J&S Armstrong, and we decided to take that and go out on our own,” Steve recalls. “We had that truck in at Toll and were towing their trailers and that’s where it all started.”
Between that first second-hand T401 and the sensational ‘Track 18’ you see on the pages before you there have been plenty of successes and failures. It has been the commitment of Steve and Tracey to dig in and fight over the years that has seen the STA Trucking fleet expand to where it is now, with 11 trucks and 30 trailers and dollies.
“When we first started, we had some issues,” Steve says. “When Charli (the couple’s daughter) was born I took a couple weeks off to be at home and put a driver in the truck. He rolled it in the first couple of days.”
At that stage the couple were flat out with Toll and down time wasn’t an option. The couple managed to find another second-hand T401, but it was a big hurdle for the small family business.
The good news was the work the couple were doing for Toll was spawning more opportunities. Within the first 12 months a second-hand Western Star was added to the
garage to keep up with the requests and when Toll pushed for even more work Steve and Tracey invested in their first brand-new truck, a DAF.
“We bought the DAF purely because of the price. It wasn’t doing interstate, maybe as far as Gladstone and places like that. We needed a reliable truck at a good price and the DAF was good.”
It was at this stage with three trucks, a couple of drivers and Tracey at home on maternity leave with their first child, that their world got flipped on its head.
“I had just informed my work I wouldn’t be coming back because I was flat out with all the business stuff, and we were doing well,” Tracey says.
“Then on the Friday we get a call from Toll saying Sunday would be our last run. We panicked, we had no trailers of our own, we had just brought the brand-new DAF, it was awful.”
There’s an old T S Elliot quote ‘if you aren’t in over your head, how do you know how tall you are’. That one phone call put Steve and Tracey into a position where the couple could show exactly how tall they were as a team working together — in a very quick manner.
“We were very determined,” exclaims Tracey. “We
“We panicked, we had no trailers of our own, we had just brought the brand-new DAF, it was awful.”
didn’t want to lose our house, we wanted to succeed and not let this ruin us. Steve got out the old phone book and just started ringing everyone. Anyone with ‘Transport’ in the name, he rang. And kept ringing. Every day.”
The couple took on any work they could just to pay the bills.
“We nearly lost everything; we didn’t know where our next paycheque was coming from. Our accountant at the time said sell stuff, sell the car, sell a lung if you have too,” recalls Steve.
The persistent phone calls worked. Steve and Tracey ended up with their trucks towing Lindsay Brothers trailers, Roadmaster, Nolans, Blenners, anyone they could work for they did.
“It was all adhoc work, stuff Steve was picking up on a day-to-day basis,” says Tracey. “Some of it was crap work, crap money. We went through a lot of drivers as well because a lot of it was just Brisbane to Sydney and it was hard on them.”
The couple are the first to admit it was a very difficult time, but their drive to survive and flourish was extremely strong. The experience with Toll opened their eyes to the pitfalls of putting all their eggs in one basket and led to a few changes.
“We decided to downsize from the three trucks to two. We sold off the Western Star and the 401, kept the DAF and bought our first Freightliner Argosy,” says Steve.
It wasn’t just a change in the trucks as the couple also decided to get their hands on their own trailers as well.
“We went to the auctions and got a couple of old Lindsays trailers,” says Tracey. “They needed tidying up which I did by hand. I did all the paint stripping myself because Steve kept hacking into the sides with the box cutter.”
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“Right from the start I’d told Steve I didn’t want to see this truck until it was finished.”
Credit where credit is due. Steve did do a great job of the sanding and painting. It was just the more delicate work that was left to Tracey.
Having their own trailers opened up more doors for the couple. Ensuring they always fronted up with professional looking trucks and professional drivers saw their reputation grow too. Steve and Tracey slowly moved away from the second-hand trucks and started building a fleet of new Freightliners.
In 2021 things changed again for STA Trucking when they received a phone call and an invite to sit down with Jeff Miller and Graham Keogh from Wickhams Transport.
went and ordered our first 909 and our first brand new road train trailers.”
Since that first 909 STA has grown and grown. The family company’s ability to provide professional quality service has seen their work for Wickhams and their other clients consistently increase in volume. It has also seen Steve and Tracey’s back yard shrink as more trucks roll in.
Above: Doesn’t take long to get the Maxi-cube fridge vans loaded. I’d say Antonio gets it easy but he still does have to place the ply. So, there is some work there for him
Below: Antonio is the young man responsible for the latest STA Trucking Kenworth and takes as much pride in the truck and job as Steve and Tracey do
“We’d done a couple of adhoc loads for Wickhams and then got called up for a meeting, they asked if we could do a road train a week to Adelaide and we jumped at the opportunity,” says Steve.
It was a big leap for a company that had a blanket ‘No bonnets, no trains’ policy.
“I’d stuck to just cabovers when we moved to B-doubles,” Steve says. “It was always about maximising everything. But when we got the Wickhams run, we
Truck number 10
It is their 10th truck ‘Track 18’ that is the special one though — as the couple hit the magic number they were looking for in regards to fleet size.
“10 was my magic number,” Tracey says. “Steve’s magic number was three, so we discussed it and settled on 10.” Number 10 had to be special though, and Tracey was determined to take the reins on the new truck.
“I wanted a pink truck, but Steve reckoned no one would drive it,” she says. “Then I explained my vision. I wanted black down the bottom, black tanks, black everything and pink up the top half.”
That was a vision Steve could get on board with, the couple rang Brown & Hurley and snapped up a cancelled order, albeit a white 909 with a red chassis.
The truck came up from Melbourne and headed straight for the RWI Paint and Panel workshop where it was stripped right down and completely repainted. With its new black chassis, and black and pink paint scheme, the truck headed down to Highway Lights on the Gold Coast where more black magic was added. Monster stacks, custom guards, watermelon lights, under glow and a whole heap of other extras were added to the big 909.
The team at OnHighway Electrics made sure all the driver’s creature comforts were added to the interior as well, including the TV, fridge and microwave. Seeing as the new 909 was put on the road to service the west, predominantly running Brisbane to Perth, Staunch Bullbars were employed to fit the big four post bullbar and finish off the ‘Track 18’ truck.
“Right from the start I’d told Steve I didn’t want to see this truck until it was finished,” Tracey says. “You know when you get a truck, and you see it at different stages and by the time it’s ready you are already used to it. So, I only wanted to see this one when it was completed.” It meant it was a pretty long wait until Tracey finally got to see her creation unveiled and her reaction was in line with the truck’s name — it was ‘Track 18’.
The music thing
Before I do let you go off and enjoy the different views of this stunning truck, I will, as I hinted at earlier, elaborate on Steve and
Tracey’s truck naming ritual.
Music is a huge part of Steve and Tracey’s lives and as such they have carried that through to their trucks.
“The first 909 we got we called it ‘Crazy Train’ as it was our first road train,” Steve says.
“The black Argosy we called ‘Nothing to Lose’ as I bought it sight unseen.
“The White Argosy that we bought at auction whilst waiting to see Alice Cooper, we called that ‘Welcome to my Nightmare’.
“The Purple Coronado which was dedicated to one of our drivers who took his own life, we called that ‘She Talks to Angels’.
“They all have special meanings.”
Once Tracey got the go ahead for her pink truck there was only one artist’s catalogue to choose from when it came to a name.
“It had to be Pink, and when you listen to the lyrics of F@#kin Perfect it’s all about battling and staying strong and determined. So, it really was the only name we could choose,” she says.
I think it is very fair to say never has a truck matched up more perfectly with its namesake and same can be said with the lyrics and how much they align with Steve and Tracey.
As Pink sings… ‘Made a wrong turn, once or twice. Dug my way out, blood and fire’.
Congratulations to STA Trucking for their ‘Track 18’ Kenworth T909.
Kate Battocchio
Choosing the right things to eat goes a long way to keeping you in the driver’s seat for the long haul
Extended periods of driving can make eating healthy foods challenging. But eating unhealthy food every day while being sedentary is a recipe for weight gain and health problems, including cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes.
The good news is that with a little preplanning and smart choices it is possible to stay healthy on the road.
Working irregular and/or long hours confined to a truck impacts the time you eat, sleep and exercise. It disrupts your circadian rhythm, appetite regulation, and level of alertness.
In this situation, whether it is day or night, it is useful to consider your day as a 24-hour period and in that period your body usually needs three meals and one or two snacks. In terms of the three meals, think of one as a breakfast style meal, one as a lighter lunch-style meal, and one as a main meal like dinner.
If you are working a night shift, consider having your breakfast when you first wake, then having your main meal before you start work. During your shift, have a light meal during your longest planned break, and one or two snacks along the way. Plan to have one small snack towards the end of your shift, or just before bed so you don’t wake up hungry.
At the start of the week take 10 minutes to consider your shifts, and where you might be eating. Prepare a shopping list and fill your fridge, freezer, pantry, truck, and lunch bag with your healthy choices. Build healthy meal options that contain low GI carbohydrates for energy and alertness e.g. wholegrain bread, wholegrain crispbreads, oats, sweet potato, corn, wholemeal pasta, brown rice or quinoa; lean protein to keep you feeling full e.g. lean red meat, skinless chicken or turkey, fish, seafood, eggs, reduced fat dairy or legumes, and plenty of colourful fruits and vegetables for filling fibre and nutrients to keep you healthy and energised.
‘Breakfast-style’ meal (when you wake up)
• Wholegrain toast, poached eggs, avocado, tomato, and mushrooms
• Smoothie with reduced fat milk and yoghurt, fruit, oats, and nuts
• Bowl of traditional rolled oats, natural muesli or wheat biscuits, reduced fat
milk, and fruit
• Wholegrain wrap, poached egg, spinach leaves, avocado
• Wholegrain toast, salt-reduced baked beans, avocado
‘Main’ meal (before night shift or end of day shift)
• Grilled chicken breast, wholegrain wraps, garden salad
• Grilled fish, tabouli salad with chickpeas
• Grilled red meat, roasted sweet potato, green beans and asparagus
• Stir-fry with noodles or rice, vegetables and skinless chicken, beef or prawns
• Omelette with roast pumpkin, red onion and spinach leaves
‘Light’ meal (during your shift)
• Homemade or canned vegetable soup with legumes e.g. lentils, chickpeas, red kidney beans, wholegrain bread roll.
• Container of dinner leftovers e.g. stir-fry / pasta / curry that has lean protein, pasta, rice or potato and lots of vegetables –smaller portion than dinner.
• Wholegrain bread or crispbreads e.g. Vita Wheat or Ryvita with tuna, salmon, cottage cheese, boiled eggs, lean leg ham or turkey breast with garden salad.
• Rice salad with quick cup brown rice, tuna, can of 3 bean mix and spinach leaves OR Steam Fresh bag of mixed vegetables.
Small healthy snacks (during your shift) Choose one or two, saving one for towards
“With a little pre-planning and smart choices it is possible to stay healthy on the road”
the end of the shift.
• Fresh fruit and low fat yoghurt
• Mixed raw unsalted nuts and dried fruit
• Wholegrain crackers with low fat cheese and tomato
• Low fat milk coffee and raisin bread with one teaspoon 100% nut butter
• Can of tuna / salmon with wholegrain crackers
Smarter choices on the road
There are going to be times when things don’t go exactly to plan, for this reason it is a good idea to keep some non-perishable food items stored on-board, but out of sight (and mind). Good options include:
• Small packs of nuts and/or dried fruit
• Wholegrain muesli bars
• Individually wrapped crackers e.g. Premiums
• Cans of tuna or salmon
• Individual portions of wholegrain cereals (mini boxes)
• Freeze dried food packs – rehydrate with water
• Packs of instant oats
• Packs of individual spreads e.g. nut butter to put on crackers
If this falls through and you are left choosing from a takeaway outlet here are some of the better options:
Service stations
• Low fat yoghurt
• Chilled fresh fruit salads / whole fruit
• Individual cereal packs
• Cheese and cracker packs
Steer clear of pies, sausage rolls, muffins, cakes and chocolate bars.
Bakeries
• Wholegrain bread rolls, sandwiches or wraps filled with salad and protein
• Soup with wholegrain bread or rolls
• Toast with spread and reduced fat milk coffee
Steer clear of pies, sausage rolls, pastries, cakes, and biscuits.
Roadhouse
Look for menu items that are similar to the healthy dinner options listed above e.g.
• Red meat (trim the fat off) with potato and salad or vegetables
• Roast chicken (remove the skin) with mashed potato and garden salad
• Meat and vegetable stir-fry with a small portion of rice
• Vegetable soups with rolls
• Steak sandwich with salad – hold the chips
• Salads topped with lean protein
• Burgers with salad – hold the cheese, chips and sauces
Steer clear of schnitzels, pies, sausage rolls, chips, wedges, thick-cut pizzas, hotdogs and sausage meals, desserts, and use sauces sparingly – ask for them to come on the side.
STAY AWAKE AND ALERT
Staying hydrated is important as even mild dehydration can affect alertness. Signs of mild dehydration include sleepiness or tiredness, dry sticky mouth or lips, headache, and bright yellow coloured urine. Be careful using energy drinks as they contain particularly high levels of caffeine which take a long time to be broken down and cleared from your body. Water is the best drink of choice — a rough guide would be two to three litres per day.
Western Star’s X-Series trucks are rolling in, and then out, of truck dealerships as supplies ramp up. Warren Aitken took the biggest model out there on a road trip to Perth pulling a road train to see what the fuss is all about
Welcome to the relaunch of the Western Star X-Series. I shouldn’t say ‘relaunch’ I guess. It sounds like it’s kind of a do-over event. It insinuates the 2022 launch of the X-Series didn’t count. Truth is, when Penske Australia unveiled their stunning new X-Series back in 2022 it was in the middle of a Covid crisis and a truck drought. It was great to unveil the new product, but like every other manufacturer the supplies were very limited. Hence this is more of a ‘We’ve got the stock; customers have been using the stock and the feedback and results have been awesome’ launch. But that’s just too much of a mouthful, even for me.
The truth is I think the team at Penske, from the top to the bottom, are just so excited about their new product they wanted to take a day and show it off. I got an invite and the opportunity to climb in and out of the entire X-Series range and there was no way I was turning that down. Especially when I found
out we would be test driving the X-Series in real world conditions. Penske opted to load up several trailer configurations and let us loose on actual roads. Amongst actual limited ability Queensland drivers. Real life testing. You will learn further on in my breakdown of the X-Series that I took up an offer to do a little more than just a couple of days cruising the Warrego Highway, with a salesman chewing my ear off. I got the opportunity to take one of the X-Series’ flagships, a 49X with 72’ sleeper, and work it for a week, hooking up a train and heading to Perth. I formed a lot of opinions during the Penske drive day, but the real-world workings of the new X-Series — that week on the road was a lot more informative. More on that soon.
First things first. The X-Series is a whole new truck for Western Star, and its parent company Daimler Trucks North America. Daimler Trucks North America also have Detroit, Freightliner and Thomas Built as feathers in their bow. It’s
“PENSKE
a bloody big company with a long history in building trucks. The X-Series is a much needed, newly redesigned, ground-up, standalone truck.
Replacing an iconic series like the Western Star Constellations was always going to be a big task but the engineers and designers over in Portland went all out in making sure they worked out the best way to build a state-of-the-art truck, with all the current and foreseeable safety regulations included, as well as finding a way to ensure it carries the Western Star reputation for toughness and reliability.
Obviously with a parent company like Daimler Trucks the engineers will use all the experience and ideas on hand. When they first set out with the X-Series they took one of the cabs from within the Daimler umbrella and used that as a template. Hence if the shape looks familiar, that’s why. They took that cab and basically thrashed it at their state-of-the-art testing facility in Madras. They found out where and when the cabs reached their limits and proceeded to work out ways to strengthen them. The same kind of rigorous testing went into every facet of the new X-Series, to look at not just the durability during the truck’s first life, but its second life as well.
One of the big improvements that got tested both at Daimler’s North American Madras testing arena, and over here in Australia on several demo models, was the whole new chassis rail components. Western Star have found a way to skip the need for twin rail chassis, but still get their ratings up into the triple figures.
It’s not just the rail thickness that has changed with the X-Series. A huge change is the move to splayed front chassis rails. This has allowed Western Star to move to an engine mounted cooling system. Previously the radiator was mounted to the chassis rails which meant it was subject to a lot more twisting and flexing. It was at the will of the chassis. Now, with it mounted to the
engine, there is less pressure put on the system and less chance of damage.
Western Star have also solved one of the age-old curses of a bonneted truck by introducing something called an Isotech Bonnet Mounting System. There are big engineering words that can describe it, but basically, it’s a suspension system for your bonnet mount. The bonnet is still chassis mounted, but with wider chassis mounting points. With this system, you are not sitting in the truck watching the bonnet bounce and flex like an episode of Dancing with the Stars. Add in the move to a resin bonnet over fibreglass and you have a lighter stronger bonnet that doesn’t bounce with every pothole.
Western Star haven’t just come out with one new truck, it is ‘The X-Series’ for a reason. They’ve got a truck to fit into every market.
You have the 47X, which can come with either the Detroit DD13 or the smaller Cummins L9. With its shorter nose and set back axle it’s a perfect multi-functional truck. The eight-wheeler version I tried would make a perfect tipper or Agi.
Then you have the 48X. These are the Australasianonly X-Series truck. Designed with a set forward front
axle and able to fit either the DD13 or the DD16. The 48X is basically perfect for any role, with a BBC number that ensures you can comfortably get a 26m B-double behind it.
Finally, there’s the big girl, The 49X. It can come equipped with Western Star’s biggest bunk, the 72” stratosphere.
There are going to be many Western Star affiliates that want to cling to the tried-and-true Constellation series, and I, for one, am a fan of living in the past — just check out my wardrobe. Truth is though, government regulations, safety requirements and all that other BS that we don’t understand has major implications when it comes to trucks. Western Star needed to revamp their line up and, on paper, the new X-Series ticks all the boxes.
There’s an improved cooling package to help the trucks handle the Aussie heat. Increased strength in every area, with less weight in many key areas and most importantly, the designers have retained the staunchness that comes with the big shiny Western Star grill — albeit a little more modern version. Yes, there have been some small sacrifices. I am referring to the fact that in keeping with
“THE 48X IS BASICALLY PERFECT FOR ANY ROLE, WITH A BBC NUMBER THAT ENSURES YOU CAN COMFORTABLY GET A 26M B-DOUBLE BEHIND IT.”
having arguably the widest and most driver-orientated cabin, they’ve lost the ability to add stacks to the side of the new X-Series. Even when Australia goes to 2.55m, it’ll be a no go. Fingers crossed for 2.6m like the Americans. That’s enough regurgitating the sales brochure though, we need to look at how these Stars go. On the Penske drive day, there was a lolly scramble of trucks to test. Knowing that I would be crossing the paddock in the 49X, I opted to check out the 47X, which was an 8x4 cab chassis and the 48X with 26m B-double.
Firstly, I have to commend Western Star for their ‘extreme insulation’ package that is standard in all X-Series. I commend them because it brings an almost European level of quietness and comfort to all the trucks. You do have to put a little more effort in to closing the doors with their triple rubber seals, but we all need a good work out.
Western Star has stepped up its game with the quality of the interior as well. If that overhead console wasn’t flexing with me hanging off it, there’s nothing the Bruce Highway can do to them. Also, kudos for the new air vents, they look like they aren’t breaking either. If you’ve had a Star, you know what I mean.
As far as performance and ride went, the Warrego and Cunningham Highway are a good starting point for assessing trucks and both the 47X and 48X felt extremely comfortable to drive. As a cab chassis it’s hard to assess how well the DD13 went in the 47X but the DD16 in the 48X was like a dream. I spent a fair bit of time letting the revs drop just to see how well the new motor would pull and was a little bit excited when it didn’t just hold on up the hill but would actually start pulling when the road was still rising.
Drive days are educational, but they are different to a working day, so I am extremely thankful to Land Transport for handing me the keys to one of their new 49Xs, with the 72” bunk and pointing me to Perth. It gave me the opportunity to try out the truck a bit more personally.
Looking first at living in the truck, it would easily get a five-star rating as an Air BnB. The sleeper is huge and, depending on how you set it up, it’s enough for a four-up team if needed. What I loved was even whilst driving on the roughest roads you weren’t hearing stuff creaking or
ABOVE RIGHT: Land Transport’s 49X offered five star comfort on the trip across the country to Perth and back
BELOW: The view of the road from the driver’s seat is hard to beat
TOP LEFT: The digital dash is another option available to buyers of the new Western Star X-Series trucks
OPPOSITE MIDDLE, L TO R: From the Iso Tech bonnet support system, through to the massive sleeper cabin, the 49X has been designed to offer drivers comfort on the road
rattling in the back. As far as the cab itself, I had to ring a Penske salesman just to check if the interior dimensions were larger in the 49X. Apparently not. Like the Stars of old there is still a massive amount of space inside. When it comes to the performance of the DD16, it is a bit early to say. When I hooked up the road train the engine only had around 1,500km on it, so barely out of diapers yet. I hit the Toowoomba bypass and thought maybe I had picked up an extra trailer as the engine seemed to die off pretty quick. However, I dropped a couple of gears (running a manual box in this one by the way) and all of a sudden it was like the Detroit woke up and realised ‘oh yea, it’s my job to pull this’. From that moment it just held on. Any slight ease in elevation and it was like the final stretch at Flemington. It would just rear up and dig in. I almost contemplated changing up at the peak of the range just to test the Detroit out. Over the course of the 4,500km journey the Detroit seemed to grow into itself. By the time I was navigating the Wongon Hills in WA, it felt like I only had a single on behind me. Fuel-wise the truck was exactly what you would expect from a fresh truck with a road train, averaging around 1.47-1.55. AdBlue though, that’s a different story. With a 200l tank on I reckon I could have made Perth and
back without fuelling it. I seriously thought the gauge was broken the first day or so. What I did particularly love about the 49X was how easy it was to drive. Land Transport have specced theirs out with the dual steering boxes and it was magic. It gave the truck a very light responsive feel without feeling like you were floating all over the road. I appreciate the longer wheelbase on my test truck played a huge part in it handling the rough roads with such grace, but the design of the new X-Series is going to ensure that wheelbase isn’t everything.
Whilst it’s not going to be a deciding factor for many, I also want to comment on how easy this new truck is to clean. As a driver and truck nut it actually makes a difference when you’re
not trying to squeeze the sponge in weird aerodynamic areas or cutting your fingers on harsh grills and steps. The WA weather meant I had several wash sessions and found the 49X pretty easy to keep tidy. The 72” stratosphere bunk would have been easier if I was an NBA player, but that’s life.
If you weren’t already aware, the Western Star X-Series rightfully received the 2024 Australasian Truck of the Year Award and after a week behind the wheel I can see why. So much innovation and forethought has gone into these new Western Stars, whilst still maintaining the solid, tough reliability that has made them such a fan favourite.
I’m looking forward to my next trip across the paddock that’s for sure.
The dream of truck drivers being trusted to manage their own fatigue remains just that
Goodaye all. Recently, I had one of our drivers want to chat. He wants the fatigue management system fixed and fair. Whilst his dreams match many others, most in authority would run away saying: “But you can’t have this now (because they all think they know better) and based on your record, you did it all wrong in the past” — and yes, he has the fines and a record to confirm this, as many others do too.
Certainly, some did it completely wrong and for the wrong reasons. But many did it wrong by the law of the land, but right by them and their own fatigue knowledge and control.
Ken Wilkie has often asked how many “fatigue” crashes have occurred whilst “legal” and of course, I am fairly certain, not one road authority will have (let alone let anyone see) a record of all those offences which we deem as bullshit, having nothing whatsoever to do with actual risk or road safety as such — as opposed to a list of real, to them at least, fatigue risks.
Many years ago, a driver said much the same as our bloke did. He is struggling more now than he ever has — to be both safe and compliant. Of course, the scrutiny and fines have increased, along with the technology to watch you every minute and kilometre you travel, whether by your own company or the authorities themselves, which have now nearly all been taken over by the NHVR.
So, in our dreams, you would be able to drive when fit, sleep when tired, eat when hungry and shower and sh*t when needed. But of course, those who make the rules want them enforced. To be fair, the NHVR who have been given these rules, not made them or the penalties involved, are now one of the two bodies enforcing them. Ah yes, the Police, the other body!
Whilst ever the current law stands, and the Police have the power to enforce the bad, unfair and unjust parts of it, we will continue to be persecuted by the few. I do honestly believe the NHVR aim to educate before enforcement, but of course, if you act stupidly and keep doing so, then they will prosecute you, probably fairly so — at least we hope. However, the Police have told me: “Get the law fixed, we can’t half Police the law”. And, whilst that is half true, they too could adopt the same mantra as the NHVR.
So, I hate to say, the current long running review of the HVNL and the review of the review, could be our only hope. It could give the NHVR some power to change things. It could remove
some of the rubbish. But until those in the government and the agencies who persuade, educate, direct and enforce the current law recognise we are not the criminals we are too often portrayed as, you and all the King’s horsemen, have little chance to change things.
IS THIS THE RIGHT PATH?
By the time you read this, your chance to reply and or contribute to an Austroads survey on the law regarding licenses for overseas drivers will be long gone. I only found out from a mate who had filled it in, only to find when he got to the end, he could not add any explanation or further comment. I have done it and yes, you think there will be a closing statement option, but it says, thanks and goodbye, so too late. But I did follow up with an email and some questions and hope to come back to you with answers.
In discussing the survey, I raised the issue with my mate of how, many years ago, we had lots of immigrant drivers. Not
ROD HANNIFEY, a transport safety advocate, has been involved in raising the profile of the industry, conducting highway truck audits, the Blue Reflector Trial for informal parking bays on the Newell, the ‘Truckies on Road Code’, the national 1800 number for road repairs proposal, and the Better Roadside Rest Areas Group. Rod is the immediate past president of the NRFA. Contact Rod on 0428 120 560, e-mail rod.hannifey@bigpond. com or visit www.truckright.com.au
politically correct now of course, but we had people from many different countries and we had names for each of them then too. But were we more affable and less nasty, and were they more accepting and intent on assimilating?
Did we mean and they accept our nicknames and the like as Aussie slang and affection and did they simply not laugh it off, but then work harder to be included?
Where we are at now, with the issues on the road, on the radio and between drivers who all we hope, simply want to work and feed their family and then get home safely each trip. From where I sit is not only getting worse, it is going to do us all more harm than good.
None of us are perfect, some of us made mistakes when we were learning and some of us, if we didn’t get a good clip over the ear by the boss or your Dad or Uncle or whoever was teaching you, certainly got soundly and thoroughly abused when you did it wrong.
Again, in the past, if you made a mistake on the road and owned it and apologised, the other fellow would say something like, “All good, we all make mistakes, but just don’t do it again OK?” Now, before you can even say sorry, the other driver is abusing you and threatening you. We have all seen road rage videos, some directed at truckies.
Now if mistakes are made by a car driver, who knows no better, then we have failed to educate them and whilst I have been pushing that barrow for years, it still needs to be done. But yes, we need better control of licensing and who does drive trucks, but once drivers are in one, will you help or make it worse? The horse has bolted, we need to work together and fix the fences, but we can’t go back in time.
Safe Travelling, Rod Hannifey.
“But were we more affable and less nasty, and were they more accepting and intent on assimilating?”
With the success and support of truckies and operators at its heart Highway Advocates (Australia) Pty Ltd has carved a unique path in the legal landscape of heavy vehicle enforcement, with a journey that began in Victoria, transitioned north to Queensland, and now finds its firm footing in the heart of New South Wales.
With a registered office in Parramatta, Highway Advocates is strategically positioned near the NHVR and Transport for NSW headquarters. However, its operational base is Goulburn, just down the road from the Marulan weighbridge.
The two locations see Highway Advocates well placed to address the needs of its clients throughout NSW, Victoria, and South Australia.
Goulburn is also home to the firm’s Principal Solicitor, Rodney Boyd, who brings extensive experience and local insight to the table, having practiced as a criminal solicitor in the Goulburn area since 2008.
Robert Bell, the transport industry insider who came up with the idea for Highway Advocates as a firm, back in 2021, says he has always felt the firm should have a connection with Marulan, and it turns out his intuition was spot on.
Robert’s paternal Grandfather, Cecil Roy Bell, was in the 12th Light Horse Regiment in the first World War, which took part in the Charge of Beersheba together with the 4th Light Horse. He even met Lawrence of Arabia. Cecil, as it turns out, was also born in Marulan. “Highway Advocates have come home,” Robert says.
While the physical location may have changed, Highway Advocates (Australia) is set to continue the focused legal advocacy it is renowned for and will continue to grow as the need for its services increase.
Robert says Highway Advocates is not just another legal firm.
“It represents a culmination of authentic road transport experience, rigorous legal practice by qualified practitioners, and an unwavering commitment to the industry it represents.”
Asked about recent successes, Robert offers a list of case outcomes for their clients.
• 25 Fatigue Breaches with potential maximum penalty of over $178,000 and 28 demerit points. No convictions, fines, or loss of demerit points.
• 8 Fatigue contraventions with previous relevant convictions, with a potential maximum penalty of over $86,000 and 4 demerit points. No convictions, fines, or loss of demerit points.
• 25 Fatigue contraventions with a potential maximum penalty of over $330,000 and 69 demerit points. The outcome we achieved was a conviction and fine of $2,000 for one offence only.
“We also represented a Melbournebased client facing a daunting 21 fatigue-related charges, carrying a maximum penalty exceeding $180,000. Astonishingly, the outcome was no convictions or penalties, just a $500 donation to the court fund.
“On the last four occasions where operators faced offences that could also be directed at the driver, we negotiated withdrawals/dismissals in every instance.”
Recognising the growing need for proactive compliance, Robert has also established Highway Advocates (Consultancy Service) Pty Ltd, offering “cost-effective solutions to enhance productivity and efficiency while safeguarding against compliance risks”.
“It is this agility combined with an ability to adapt to the ever-changing enforcement environment that sets Highway Advocates apart,” Robert says. It’s a focus Robert is sure will continue well into the future.
Highway Advocates (Australia) Pty Ltd, is directed by Principal Solicitor, RODNEY BOYD and a team of solicitors and paralegals provide the legal structure. ROBERT BELL, a transport industry insider, continues to provide the vision and insight to bring Highway Advocates to where it is today. Highway Advocates is now, more than ever before, firmly placed to assist drivers and operators with all their legal and compliance needs.
“Rodney and his team have firmly grasped and developed the principles that have guided Highway Advocates on its journey so far,” he says.
“As surveillance and regulatory scrutiny intensify, the firm remains dedicated to keeping operators in business, and drivers on the road by providing unmatched legal support and consultancy.”
In keeping with the usual Highway Advocates column, the team has taken a look at what has been happening in the courts recently, and identified a couple of cases worth noting for those in the transport industry:
• “Transport for New South Wales v De Paoli Transport Pty Ltd [2022] which set a benchmark for operators around the country. In this case, a transport company from the Riverina, despite having a NVHAS fatigue management manual in place, along with its managers, received fines of $180,000 and $15,000 apiece. The National Heavy Vehicle Regulator reported that this decision highlights that the NHVL operates on what duties you perform, not the title you hold”.
• Another case is Department of Transport and Main Roads v NM & AA Foley Contracting Pty Ltd [2023], whereby a Brisbane based heavy transport and machinery business were fined $1.2 million after pleading guilty to thirty-seven fatigue related charges under the Heavy Vehicle National Law. In both cases, there was not any single accident or actual fatigue event that triggered the investigation and subsequent prosecution. Cameras are everywhere, and surveillance is increasing all the time. If your drivers are caught in the net, you, the operator, may be next.”
As for what’s next, Robert and Rodney say Highway Advocates (Australia) Pty Ltd will continue to do what it does best – “keep you on the road where you belong!”
“Highway Advocates (Australia) is set to continue the focused legal advocacy it is renowned for and will continue to grow as the need for its services increase”
Lisa Lloyd has had diesel in her veins since she was a toddler sitting in her dad’s lap steering the tractor around the farm. It’s led her all over Australia driving trucks as big as triple road trains, as Alex Catalano found out
In her four decades of experience behind the wheel, 60-year-old Lisa Lloyd has driven trucks of all shapes and sizes, including some of the biggest there is.
While she’s starting to take a step back now, if you can call driving triple road trains across South Australia every weekend a ‘step back’, it’s just another part of a transport journey that has taken her all over Australia.
“I’m a grandma now and I’m still doing it!” she laughs.
Lloyd currently works casually for Qube, taking loads of copper concentrate from the mine in Carrapateena down to Whyalla Wharf in a fully loaded triple road train.
Images: All Lisa Lloyd/Supplied
“I’m just doing one trip in the day, then night shift do the other,” she says.
“After we get to the port, we hop on a stacker ourselves and unload it, put some empties on and run it back.
“I’m driving geared trucks, autos, Volvos, Macks, a couple of Kenworth T909s. It’s anything really, whatever’s sitting there. It gives you a bit of variety.
“We go up and stay on the mine. It’s an everyday thing. We jump on forklifts and take the boxes off,
get the lids off.
“I quite enjoy reach stackers and loaders. They break it up a bit for the day.”
Lloyd has settled back down in SA now, back where she started in the Clare Valley.
Her father used to own a vineyard in the area, and she’s come back now to take care of him as she herself moves closer to retirement.
While she originally intended to find something smaller and more local, the call of the open road was too great to ignore.
“I’ve tried to come home and get a local job, but a weekend doing mining work is just nothing,” Lloyd says.
It was on the farm that her transport career started. Lloyd is a self-described petrolhead, with “diesel in her veins”.
“Dad used to take me out before kindy and threw me on the tractor,” she says.
“I couldn’t reach the pedals, so he’d do it and I’d just steer it. He’d stand on the trailer feeding sheep or throwing posts out in the vineyard. That was my first whiff of diesel.”
That was the start of a great thing, as Lloyd was determined to get on the road as soon as she possibly could, whether that be by car, truck or otherwise.
“I was always mad keen to get a car licence, went for my Ls on my 16th.
“I had the opportunity a little bit later to get a HC licence. I was renting a house that belonged to a farmer down on the plains and he asked me to start the truck up.
“He had an old White Roadboss out in the shed. I asked if I could take it for a lap of the paddock. I ventured out on the roads after that.
“I taught myself how to back it. I had horses so I knew how
Top: Driving road trains isn’t for everyone, but Lisa can’t get enough, even at 60
“I quite enjoy reach stackers and loaders. They break it up a bit for the day.”
“I think you’ve got to have a bit of mechanical knowledge and a bit of diesel running through your veins to be successful.”
to back a horse float.
“Then I convinced him to let me go for my licence, which only took a drive around town with a policeman back then.
That was back in 1987.”
After that, the truck licence didn’t get much of a workout other than around the farm.
“I was married to a station manager so I hopped in the old station truck with cows, just rigids,” Lloyd says.
Off to the top end
Below: When it comes to mining work, efficiency comes first — that means as many trailers as possible
Opposite top: Lisa stands proudly with one of her trucks
Opposite middle: Just one of the many road trains Lisa has jumped behind the wheel of
Lloyd’s career in transport really began to take off when she made the move to the Northern Territory after her marriage ended.
It didn’t come straight away though — she dabbled in baking and tour guiding before being approached by a friend desperately looking for an extra pair of hands.
“The wet season came and a friend was in a roadworks crew who were screaming for a water cart driver, but I didn’t
know about that,” she says.
“But I didn’t know what else I’d do in the wet season. They put me in a prime mover with a water tank where a sleeper cab would be.
“We’d be out patching roads and the thing was horrible, all the boys refused to drive it. I copped it and put up with it for a while. It went from there.
“The more I stuck my head under the truck when the mechanics were working on it and got underneath it and got dirty, I showed them I was keen and wanted to learn the job.
“A couple of the blokes took me under my wing and helped me along. They threw me along in loaders. We were all over the territory, it was so much fun.
“One of the guys said ‘you’ve been nagging, get in this grader and do the next 5km’. That’s what it was like. Their faith in me built me up to where I am.
“It got all the way up to triple side tippers up there carting the aggregate stone for the tipping crew. It was so much variety.”
After enjoying her time in the top end, Lloyd returned home for a brief stint before her next adventure.
Finding herself out of work, a chance phone call once again led her to a completely different side of the country.
“I had a random phone call and took months to find out where it came from,” Lloyd says.
“A bloke called up and said ‘I believe you can drive triple side tippers. Would you come over to Kalgoorlie?’ I thought it was a prank!
“They put me through a medical two days later and then I was on a plane to WA.
“It took me ages, but I found out that a lady I’d worked with before was a chef in the mines, and she’d mentioned to the HR guy that she had a friend who could drive.
“People ask me how I got in the mines, and I said they rang me up and asked! Once you’re in there you can go anywhere.”
Just like in the NT, Lloyd says she made some of her fondest memories working in Kalgoorlie, building camaraderie with her co-workers and fellow drivers.
While she says she’s faced challenges working in transport, with even fewer women working in the industry back in the 2000s compared to now, she was never made to feel more than welcome.
“With the guys in WA, we had missions to get so many loads
in 12 hours and you were flat out,” Lloyd says.
“The chase, the adrenaline, keeping in front of the other guy, I loved it all.
“Once I proved to them I could keep up and I could load clear, they considered me one of the blokes. I was part of the team.
“Even back then there weren’t many women around doing it. I find it’s a whole different world now, the way I got into it compared to now for young girls.
“But there’s plenty of girls from years gone by that have done it the hard way.
“Without the guys I worked with, I wouldn’t be where I am. They’ll teach you anything. The people make it and break it. All the boys I worked with were a really close knit family.
Moving up the ranks
Going up from smaller rigids all the way to triple road trains is a very different process now than when Lloyd was learning how to drive.
She was able to learn on the job, with all different kinds of trucks and for significantly cheaper, while she believes there are more barriers for entry for drivers nowadays.
“It’s harder to move your licence up now,” she says.
“I had to train a bloke to drive and it did his head in. I was very lucky learning when I did.
“With the roadworks crew, they gave me a rigid watercart that had an 18 speed Road Ranger in it. They let me go with that for 10 months. I could get the hang of the gearbox without worrying about trailers or weight. I had a ball with it.
“I could step into the trailers and not worry about missing gears, I just had to get used to weights and going up hills. I learned when not to use a clutch and how they’re supposed to feel. It was a really smooth transition.
“I was driving a 300 ton with a big powerful engine, and it came natural. To have to sit and do it, to logbook it, and go step by step now, that
would be hard.”
Reflecting on her career now, Lloyd says that the two most important things to have if you’re considering getting into trucking is knowledge and passion.
“I think you’ve got to have a bit of mechanical knowledge and a bit of diesel running through your veins to be successful,” she says.
“If you don’t understand how the truck works, you won’t be as good at it. Just go by your heart. If you don’t put your heart in, it’s not worth trying. I’m old school, and I think the way I learned was great.
“My nephew is looking to up his car licence, and he was thinking of getting a truck licence. I told him to not just go to heavy rigid, go as high as you can get. Even if you never use it, just get it.
“I went and got a truck licence because it was sitting in front of me and I had no plans to use it, but now it’s been my life for 40 years. It’s harder to get out of them than into them!”
Darryl Edwards is the man behind the popular Truckspotting Ararat. He speaks to OwnerDriver about how his passion became more than just a pastime.
There are many ways to explore your passion for trucks.
Some love to collect memorabilia or show off their pride and joy, chrome sparkling and paint beaming at one of Australia’s many truck shows.
For Darryl Edwards, his passion comes through photography.
He’s the mind behind the popular Truckspotting Ararat, which started as just a hobby but has evolved far beyond that.
Edwards posts nearly every day on his social media channels, showing off trucks that he’s snapped on the road, at shows, or in photoshoots.
But he hadn’t always been photographing trucks, or even interested in them at all.
“I used to be a live music photographer,” Edwards tells OwnerDriver.
“When I moved out to Ararat I couldn’t really do that anymore. I started shooting buildings, but there
was no fun in that. By chance I started taking photos of trucks.
“A friend of mine said to me said I should make a page for truck drivers. I didn’t think much of it, because I didn’t know why anyone would want to see photos of trucks.
“It’s taken off from there. A hobby has turned into a small business.”
Despite not having very much trucking knowledge before he started the page, Edwards has come to learn all about trucks and the industry pretty quickly.
“I didn’t even know truckspotting was a thing,” he says.
“I knew of trainspotting. But now I know all the makes, models and even the drivers now. The
variety on the road means you never know what’s going to come through town. It’s a variety of trucks and what they’re pulling.
“Every truck driver has a story. I’ve now made some lifelong friends doing this.”
When Edwards first started, it was always for fun and the passion of the art.
Over time however, as his name started to get out there, he began to take commissions from transport businesses and drivers looking for professional photos of their trucks.
Even now that it is his business, Edwards says he still strives to continue to improve his work, and work with his clients as best he can.
“I enjoy what I do, and I hope that comes out in my work,” he says.
“Your best advertisement is your work. When I started off, I wasn’t very good, but I’ve been able to improve as I go.
“I’ve got clients now in quarries where I do their promo work. I also do fleet photography. It’s mostly through word of mouth.
“For me the biggest thing I’ve learned doing this is that the perception of truck drivers isn’t what you hear or see on the news.
“These guys work hard on their own most of the time, and they’re good people. It is a little community.”
Photography tips
For those looking to get into truck photography as an amateur, it can be difficult to start, Edwards explains.
Gear is the easy bit, however. Some other truckspotters use their phones for photos, which he says is more than enough if you’re just doing it for fun.
“In terms of gear, you don’t have to have top of the range cameras,” Edwards says.
“I have a 15-year-old camera, a Nikon. It’s all about how you take the photos. I started off taking photos in semi-automatic settings, but now I shoot full manual by learning through practice.
“There are people out there do truckspotting with their phones, and they take good photos as well. You just need to have a creative aspect to what you do.
“Just get out there and have fun.”
Being out on the side of the road can also be a process of trial and error.
As the sun moves around, so should you. While Edwards is
familiar with the routes around Ararat and Mortlake, where he regularly sets up, it can take a while to know where the best places are to shoot from.
“It’s all about the sun, where the sun is determines where I take my photos,” he says.
“If it’s the middle of the day, you’ve got the sun directly above. Early morning it’s to the east, so I’ll look for where the trucks are going into the sun. Same for the evening sun. It lights them up from the front.
“Time of day is important. I generally have my spots for certain times. It’s also good to mix it up.”
While he does now do shoots with clients outside of the roadside photography, Edwards does find himself enjoying the simplicity of capturing trucks on the move.
“I actually find the roadside moving trucks easier!
“It’s weird, you’ve got to take in so much more when you’re doing shoots. I started doing them early so I could learn. It’s just about framing the shots well.
“You get to work with the sun still. It’s also mixing up the angles, getting the back of the truck, front side, up and down. You can make it a lot more interesting when you’ve got more time with the truck.
“You can also do night shoots with the light painting, which I love doing. With light painting, it’s long exposure. You’re taking photos for 30 seconds and lighting up the truck with a torch.”
It doesn’t take one of the world’s greatest scientists to know things could be done better at Port Botany
Well, another year has passed since my last column where I wrote about the goings on at Port Botany and the issues facing drivers and parking especially for Dangerous Goods (DG) vehicle drivers, who if caught out due to inevitable delays may find themselves deciding to either put up with being woken by security guards, just doing what they have been told to do by their employer during their legally required rest break, or choosing to just drive to get out of the Port and get to the nearest safe parking area which could be more than an hour or more away. Get caught or intercepted for whatever reason and “that’s a severe breach son.”
Officially, nothing much has changed. However, with the excellent cooperation of Transport for NSW there has been progress, and the end is in sight although still very dim.
Again, with the excellent support of Transport for NSW a parking area for DG vehicles has been nominated and the appropriate legislation applied to overcome issues with DG licencing of the facility and changes or amendments to the original planning
and development applications for the facility.
The decision is now with what is called State Planning (bureaucrats who think they are lawyers). Although residing in very large offices, in an even larger building in Castlereagh Street in Sydney, State Planning doesn’t seem to have any sense of urgency to rubber stamp the decisions and give approval for the project to move on, therefore finishing this episode and giving drivers a safe place to park if required within the Port Botany precinct.
As a Board Member of the NRFA I have attended and spoken at meetings including the NSW Roads Ministers’ Round Table on Rest areas for Heavy Vehicle within Sydney. I am convinced the bureaucrats truly do not understand the complexity of the problems confronted by drivers of heavy vehicles. I have tried in vain to explain that what we see on our roads and streets are only the symptoms of a far larger problem.
We must ask ourselves. Why are local drivers choosing to leave their trucks parked overnight along streets and roadways or in industrial areas
or known heavy vehicle rest areas or commercial premises?
It is just bloody simple really. Due to the high cost of land anywhere within the Sydney area businesses who depend on, or own their own, transport don’t want to pay for areas required to park their vehicles (parking doesn’t pay. Not only for their fleets of heavy vehicles that service the business but even for their employees who nowadays have to park on the street, leaving less room for the long distance driver who arrives during the night looking for somewhere to park up and wait for either the business to open or their timeslot.
Simple changes or amendments to legislation could be easily made that would require businesses to provide parking for their employees and for the foreseen vehicles that service their businesses. This should also affect local councils and State bodies who approve industrial developments.
As an industry we need to educate to facilitate changes which affect us.
I have also raised the issues with the grey nomads who think it’s okay to park in Heavy Vehicle rest areas. When you look seriously at the problem, it comes again down to education which leads to simple changes to signage which could overcome problems.
Let us take Harrold and Marg who are enjoying their retirement travelling the roads of our great country. They are looking to pull up for the night during the early evening before the sun goes down. They see a nice area and the sign says Rest Area and there really is nobody there. So, they park the BT50 and Viscount smack in the middle. Now we all know what happens later during the night when the heavy vehicle drivers start arriving tired and looking for somewhere to park up.
As I have suggested maybe some simple changes to the signage might help. Instead of just rest area, let’s change it to Heavy Vehicle Rest Area. Let us show Harrold and Marg that although big, a BT50 and dual axle Viscount doesn’t really cut it.
As an industry we must demand changes and education of those that affect us and our ability to safely navigate our road networks and deliver the goods and commodities that the community demands.
“Simple changes or amendments to legislation could be easily made that would require businesses to provide parking for their employees and for the foreseen vehicles that service their businesses.”
campaign of random roadworthy
of the
Well, bugger me. They have been in existence for a decade — that’s 10-plus years. And where is there any evidence that they have succeeded in making any national regulations uniform?
Just recently there was an opportunity in accepting the WA standard of 7.5 tonnes loading on steer axles under certain conditions — but no, the Not National Heavy Vehicle Regulator had to delegate a limit of 7 tonnes in the same conditions. So, that’s why the `bugger me’ comment.
Suddenly, when it suits bureaucracy, they can pull together though. I’m referring of course to the announcement that all various state and territory jurisdictions are going together to do a safety audit on
the maintenance standards of the national heavy vehicle fleet. And the reason — to determine what impact not roadworthy vehicles might have on the deplorable rise in heavy vehicle accidents. Please don’t misunderstand me. I’ve very pro for the fleet to be roadworthy. But!
Every fatality involving a heavy vehicle is subject to a thorough investigation at the time of the accident. These investigations are time consuming and completed with little regard to the needs of other road users. So why do we need the investigation?
Surely, should poor maintenance be an issue, that face must be brought to light with on-site studies. Why have such investigations if they don’t or can’t determine cause or fault? I have to say I
KEN WILKIE has been an owner-driver since 1974, after first getting behind the wheel at 11. He’s on his eighth truck, and is a long-time OwnerDriver contributor. He covers Rockhampton to Adelaide and any point in between. His current ambition is to see the world, and to see more respect for the nation’s truckies. Contact Ken at ken@rwstransport.com.au
am perplexed that the various jurisdictions don’t and haven’t made such information readily available. Insurance giant NTI has for decades undertaken studies of accidents that have cost them more than $50,000 per accident. Just time of day figures alone should give some indication the issues are more than maintenance related.
I’ve recently completed an oversize lift from Brisbane to Kowanyama. Put bluntly, I was disgusted at the quality of driving exhibited by too many people. Yes — in the middle of the recent school holidays.
The light vehicle travelling at 80 km/h on a road with a 100 km/h limit. Yes, that is a maximum speed limit and there is definitely no compulsion to travel at that speed. But, having said that, the posted limit has become a benchmark speed and any failure to achieve that speed does cause friction in the flow of traffic. So, one does not have to achieve the posted limit. But, how about some courtesy by pulling over to allow following vehicles clear passage.
Or the fools who persisted in an overtaking manoeuvre at the end of an overtaking lane. More and more I’ve concluded the biggest factor in the road toll is the role of incompetent drivers. And I must add to that, the incompetence, or is it dishonesty, of those who profess an obligation to improve the road safety outcome. I’ve said it before and it’s worth repeating. The current road toll is more a reflection on the new Australia. Stuff you Jack, I’m alright. The ANZAC spirit in this country is a thing of the past.
It’s time I signed off from contributing to the magazine. Goodbye.
Long time diesel truck driver, writer, and photographer Warren Aitken jumped behind the wheel of a Mercedes-Benz eActros 300 Prime Mover and into an electric world
Electric trucks are coming, it is an undeniable fact. The technology is developing faster than a speeding ticket and it is inevitable that electric trucks will play some part in shaping the transport industry in this country. Personally, I need to start understanding and appreciating this gigantic change in the future of our industry. In order to familiarise myself with the rapidly changing landscape that is EVs, I took up the offer to dip my toes in the electric pool with a trip down to Daimler’s Melbourne facility and get behind the wheel of the latest E-vehicle in the Daimler Truck Australia Mercedes range – the Mercedes eActros 300 Prime Mover.
If you were at the Brisbane Truck Show last year you would have seen the launch of Mercedes eActros 300 rigid vehicle. The platform has been tried and tested in Europe for quite a while but last year was the first time these state-of-the-art zero emissions vehicles made their way to our shores. Now, in 2024 Daimler Truck (Daimler) has finally brought out the prime mover version of the eActros 300. It is essentially the same vehicle, just with a couple of major additions and the intention for it to be used in very job specific areas.
If you are interested and, more importantly, understand all the EV technology I can run you through a bit of it. As I admitted beforehand, I am a very fresh fish with this electric movement, so I piled on the questions. Starting with the batteries.
The eActros 300 series, be it the rigid or the new Prime Mover are equipped with three 112kWh lithium-ion battery packs. That’s a total of 336kWh. On the rigid version, Daimler advertise a 300km range. For these new prime movers, testing so far by Daimler is saying they are designed for a 200km range. That may not sound like much, but for what these trucks are designed for it is perfect.
The idea of the eActros Prime Mover is to fit into the short-haul delivery market. Doing local supermarket drops, inner-city deliveries, applications like that where a quiet truck that isn’t blowing soot all over the scooter-riding locals is appreciated. Hence the 200km range is not a debilitating aspect at all.
There is no driveshaft in this thing at all. Instead, there is an eAxle with two integrated liquid-cooled motors and a twospeed transmission. The two-speed transmission is a tough thing to wrap your head around, but then so is the idea of the instant torque that an electric truck supplies. The Daimler brochures will tell you the eActros has a peak performance of 536hp (400kW) and 443hp (330kw) continuous output.
Braking-wise, the EV has what they call a Recuperation Braking System. It’s a fancy word for an exhaust brake that also feeds electricity back into the batteries. Obviously, you are not going to get the deep throated tones of a classic Jake
brake, but you are going to get a performance that’ll test out your seatbelt with Mercedes’ five stage recuperation braking. One thing the eActros Prime Mover has that the rigid version doesn’t is the HPR system. The HPR (High Power Brake Resistor) system is a major milestone for the electric prime movers. Thankfully the wizards at Daimler dumbed it down for me in their explanation. A lot of EVs’ power regeneration comes from downhill braking. A lot of that comes from whatever recuperation system they run. They turn that braking energy back into electricity and send it back into the vehicle’s batteries. Once the batteries are full though, there is nowhere for that energy to go. A lot of EVs will then limit the use of the ‘engine braking’ system. Daimler’s HPR system means that any additional braking energy will be converted to heat and dissipated through the large resistors behind the cab. Meaning drivers will always have full use of the ‘engine braking’ system.
As you would expect from any Daimler product there is a massive emphasis placed on safety and the eActros Prime Mover comes equipped with every possible feature. I was far too attentive to test it out, but had I been distracted and not spotted a sneaky Melbournite running out with their latte from a roadside café, the truck itself would pick it up via its front and left side radars or its front facing camera.
There are also all the other features you expect — stability control, lane assist, attention assist, roll control and even tyre pressure monitoring. I am sure there are plenty of other acronyms I’ve missed but the point is Daimler don’t just meet the minimum safety standards. They double down and set new benchmarks.
That’s about summed up the sales brochure for the eActros
“TURNING THE TRUCK ON AND HEARING NOTHING, THAT WAS DIFFERENT.”
Prime Mover, now it is time to take a look at my experience with early morning Melbourne traffic and me behind the seat of my first electric truck.
I’m not going to worry about setting the scene with any descriptive writing, telling you about the early morning sunbeams wrapping around the silver circle and reflecting back off the superb three-point Mercedes Star. Each glistening ray of light reflecting the electric energy housed under the elegant eActros façade. Nope, I’m not going to worry about that. The fact is it was a cold morning and the drive into Daimler Truck’s Laverton plant was stunted by horrendous Victorian traffic and the idea of getting back into it had me reaching for any excuse to stay in the warmth of the Daimler offices and get a hot drink in me. I had the privilege of being one of the first to experience the eActros Prime Mover though, so I put down my cup of tea and followed my guide for the day, Romesh Rodrigo, out to the single drive prime mover.
For this particular test drive Daimler made sure not to sway the results with a mock load, or a simple tractor unit drive. They hooked the single drive prime mover up to a triaxle trailer, with a 16.5-ton payload and pointed us in the direction of the West Gate Bridge.
Jumping into the eActros is a lot like every other Actros, you get the comfort and modern look you expect from the Daimler showpiece. Turning the truck on and hearing nothing, that was different. There’s no rumble, no shudder and no sound. It is only the multitude of lights and gauges that makes you aware the truck is good to go.
Electric handbrake off, I planted my foot with a bit of trepidation – if I am honest. My previous electric vehicle experience was limited to one of those atrocious electric pallet jacks that bolted away as soon as I twisted the handle, so I approached the eActros with a predetermined angst. I shouldn’t have though. You may not get that engine feel when you plant your foot, but you do get an extremely smooth response.
As we headed out the yard and along the road it was almost surreal in the quietness. Holding a conversation with Romesh was like we were in an isolated and insulated office. Hitting the first Laverton industrial roundabout, the benefits of the instant torque associated with electric vehicles was amazing. There were not many gaps to get into the roundabout and the eActros just got moving like a lure at a greyhound track.
Once we were on the motorway the eActros poked along perfectly. Quiet and comfortable, never feeling like the stop
start traffic was a hinderance at all. Dare I say it was almost pleasurable sitting in traffic. Pulling up the West Gate Bridge at 35 tonnes was interesting. The eActros didn’t feel like it was struggling, but never felt like I had to restrain it either. It was almost that Goldilocks situation where it was just right. Seeing as the eActros rigid is the same platform, just without the extra weight, I imagine that would need a little more restraint. Whilst I didn’t get a whole day of experience, the couple of hours behind the wheel gave me a greater appreciation for the eActros electric range. They are a vehicle designed for a specific market, the LMD arena (last mile delivery) and they do it very well. Those that get the privilege of driving them are going to finish their days still feeling refreshed and comfortable. They are perfect for the market they are designed for and will do a great job of satisfying the demand for zero-emission standards. The idea of having trucks in and around densely populated areas that are quiet, efficient and economical, well that’s going to keep operators, Joe Public and drivers very happy and the eActros Prime Mover will be right there at the forefront.
National logistics provider ANC is using government funding to break down barriers owner-drivers may face transitioning to electric vehicles. Alex Catalano reports
The ever-changing truck market is one that has proven difficult for owner-drivers to navigate, particularly when it comes to moving into alternative fuel.
It’s no secret that the price of going electric, or even looking at hydrogen, can be a bit off-putting even for those that want to try and lower their emissions.
Transport operators that employ fleets of ownerdrivers are trying to find their own point of difference to alleviate cost worries for their drivers.
ANC is one of those, looking to a government initiative which saw it recently secure funding to transition a big chunk of its fleet to electric.
A nationwide logistics provider, ANC has a 1,000-strong vehicle fleet, made up of 300 trucks and 700 vans. Funding from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) is allowing it to convert 112 of those trucks from diesel to electric, joining the 25 the business already has.
Upon the completion of the conversions, the ANC fleet will be one of the largest electric truck fleets in Australia.
Chief growth and sustainability officer at ANC Mo Abbas spoke to OwnerDriver about how the company is hoping to give its owner-drivers the best possible reasons to consider going electric.
“The sheer reality is, when you think about scope three emissions, there’s a significant cost of converting diesel fleet to electric fleet,” he explains.
“So, if the commercials and sustainability hang well together, then it’s sustainable and durable over
the long term, and it’s also practical and doable in the short term. And so that’s why we’ve been quite deliberate in combining sustainability and growth together.
“Educating our owner-drivers is where our focus is. I think there’s a lot of fallacies and misconceptions in the market.
“Some of them are around the fact that DC charging is a prerequisite, otherwise you can’t have an EV.
“We know that’s not true, slow AC charging on a single-phase meter at home is sufficient for most of around the 70 per cent van part of our fleet.”
Abbas and ANC are working to ensure that drivers that can have as much uptime as possible when working with electric trucks.
He believes that funding like what they have received from ARENA will make it easier than ever to move into an electric truck.
“We’re focusing and emphasising on ensuring that our delivery professionals understand that the barriers to entry are a lot lower than what people think and what the market perhaps makes them believe,” Abbas says.
“So charging is a big consideration for them, the financials and the total cost of ownership gap between the diesel vehicle and the electric vehicle, and then trying to make it as frictionless as possible when it comes to charging when they are on road.
“Uptime and maximum utilisation to them means money in their back pockets, and that’s how they’re driven.
“Then in terms of first-time usage and being able to use the vehicle, there’s a perception that, because it’s battery, because it’s new and it’s expensive, that actually the maintenance cost is higher than that of a diesel vehicle. This is despite the market talking about with costs lowering.”
In general, total cost of ownership (TCO) is only getting higher for owner-drivers, and Abbas understands that drivers don’t want to have to move to a more expensive truck.
The ARENA funding allows ANC to work on reducing the TCO gap between traditional diesel and electric trucks.
It’s a long process that may not see results for years yet, but is in line with ANC’s own continued move to zero emissions.
“One of our objectives, and one of the stronger objectives of this, and this funding support from ARENA, is to prove that there are viable levers to reduce that TCO gap so that we don’t go cap in hand and depend on government incentives to make the transition,” Abbas says.
“Now, we haven’t landed on them just yet, but they are starting to emerge for us.
“What’s emerging for us is that there are definitely opportunities to reduce that total cost of ownership gap, using technology, leveraging extended range, extended time, fully utilising public access charging and the ability to work these assets harder, will mean that you can get to TCO neutral or TCO positive.
“So we’ve got a few hypotheses that we’ll be
“Uptime and maximum utilisation to them means money in their back pockets, and that’s how they’re driven.”
working through with this project, but I think in the short term, there’s a need for some support and some incentives.
“The government’s doing a great job at targeting those incentives, like ourselves. We’re willing and able and have been on this journey, we can accelerate that journey and focus on knowledge sharing.”
While the ARENA funding is allowing ANC to expand its electric transition significantly, the move towards zero emissions is one it has been working on for years already.
ANC has already added a number of 100 per cent electric Pantech trucks, LDV vans and tuk tuks, with more trucks and vans to come.
“Of our 1,000 vehicles in total, 25 of those are already electric,” Abbas says.
“Retiring 112 diesel vehicles and transitioning them into electric is a complex undertaking.
“What we have is an asset. We have a higher perceived value on that asset than the market would otherwise view it as.
“So, when I ask someone, if you buy this truck worth
$150,000, you can trade in your current truck, your perceived value on their truck is a lot higher than what the markets are actually willing to trade in.
“Working through some of those challenges, working through the number of delivery professionals by postcode, by zone, where it makes sense to convert that vehicle to electric vehicle, and managing between prioritising those that we can convert now based on range, demographics, topography, freight, configuration and volume, to make sure that we stand by our promise.
“If you do make that transition now you will be rewarded, because you’ll be earning more than someone in a diesel vehicle.”
Abbas says he expects the reality of what the greater electric transition of ANC’s fleet will look like to really start to take shape by the end of 2025.
“I think over the next 12 to 18 months of what is a three-year project, we would have emerged a clear view and how we could reduce that total cost of ownership gap meaningfully, so that we could be self-sufficient in the deployment of the next 100 and the next 100 beyond that. I don’t think it’s too far away.
“We’re quite advanced in our rollout, but equally we recognise that not everyone is on that continuum. We’re willing to support anyone that wants to reach out for a chat, whether it’s small organisations that are grappling with, should we electrify? Should we do it now?
“My main encouragement to everyone is just make a start, even if that’s your early learning. Start with a vehicle and learn your way through that.
“Everyone’s learning journey will be very different based on their business, their shape, their profile their clients, the distribution of their clients as well. Sustainability needs to be firmly entrenched in their overall commercial performance.”
With more than 500,000 truck moves completed, Truck Moves Australia has honed its systems and processes to a fine art
They say practice makes perfect.
For the team at Truck Moves Australia it has been more than 35 years since they stepped into the business of moving trucks around the country.
From that very first delivery the business has grown and evolved.
With more than 500,000 trucks delivered so far, and 500 new trucks registered already for customers in 2024, Truck Moves Australia’s 36th year is shaping up to be a big one.
Truck Moves Australia director Matt Whitnall says the business could not have grown without the support of its loyal customers and dedicated staff.
“We’ve earned an enviable reputation
among truck dealers, fleet managers and anyone who needs trucks moved for getting the job done with no fuss,” Whitnall says.
“Key to this is our dedicated team of logistic experts and, of course, our national network of professional drivers.”
For Truck Moves Australia, having drivers available to jump in a truck as quickly as possible and move it to where it needs to be next is key.
“I’m most proud of our drivers, many of whom have decades of experience behind the wheel,” Whitnall says. “That they chose to work with us says a lot.”
As a business, Whitnall says Truck Moves Australia makes a point of ensuring its drivers are well looked after, paid per the Award and offered extra incentives such as no night driving.
He says this helps to ensure customers’ valuable trucks are driven carefully to their destinations in the best driving conditions available each trip.
“And with hundreds of drivers located all over Australia, we offer unprecedented scale in the industry.
“We can move one truck or one hundred, and often we can get your truck on the road
the same day that you book your move with us.”
The evolution of the business has included the ability for Truck Moves Australia to register new trucks, as well as deliver them.
The company also offers secure short and long-term storage for a range of truck types including prime movers and rigids in capital cities right across Australia.
Summing it up, Whitnall says: “When you need a new truck moved, registered or stored, the original truck movers at Truck Moves Australia are here to help save you time, money and hassle”.
For more information see www.truckmoves. com.au
When you need trucks moved across the city, state or country, you need a truck mover you can trust. Truck Moves Australia has been leading the way in truck moves since 1988, and in that time we’ve moved more than 500,000 trucks efficiently and safely for customers right across the country.
Our experienced team can also take care of registration, storage and even stop along the way to complete fittings and finishing touches. You can rely on Truck Moves Australia to get the job done with minimum fuss. We’ve got a network of professional drivers located all over Australia so we can often pick up your truck and get it on the road on the same day you book. Choose Australia’s most experienced truck mover to make your job easier and your customers happy.
If you’re after a new Isuzu N Series, the manufacturer is offering a service deal all the way until the end of September.
With the start of the new financial year, Isuzu Australia is offering a significant service deal for new trucks purchased between July 1 and September 30, 2024.
Select N Series Ready-to-Work and N Series cab-chassis models will be available to add on Isuzu’s sixyear Essentials Service Agreement, which halves service costs.
Isuzu says it wants its customers to have to worry less about maintaining its major investments, being new trucks.
“A key priority of quality aftersales support programs like these is to assist operators with managing the whole-of-life costs of a new truck,” says Isuzu Australia’s head of aftersales Brett Stewart.
“The Isuzu Essential Service Agreement offers coverage for essential scheduled OEM servicing, taking the guesswork out of future
maintenance costs,” he says.
“This translates to no surprises ‘on the day,’ and makes repairs and maintenance budgeting more straight forward for transport reliant businesses.”
Eligible N Series trucks purchased from an Isuzu dealership during the promotion period also come backed by Isuzu’s six-year standard factory warranty (or 250,000 km) covering cab
Agreement deal, you have a competitive upfront cost for the business that comprehensively takes care of the servicing requirements for the first six years of ownership.
chassis, and three-year (unlimited km) warranty on body equipment (Ready-to-Work models).
This offer also includes six years of 24/7 unlimited roadside assistance.
“Our customers have their own businesses to attend to, so we’re inviting them to relieve what can be a major point of angst — servicing and maintenance,” Stewart says.
“With this Isuzu Essential Service
“This helps to manage the unexpected and streamline operations and to ensure the absolute best return on the purchase of the vehicle.”
Isuzu’s N-Series models cover a number of uses, ranging from 4,500 kg Gross Vehicle Mass (GVM) (suitable for use with a standard car licence) through to 8,700 kg GVM models and takes in the pre-built Ready-to-Work range of trucks, specified for a number of trade applications.
“Commercial and domestic industries are currently in high demand, especially tradespeople and their associated capital equipment,” Stewart says.
“So, in purchasing one of Australia’s most popular lightduty truck models, with three years of our Essentials Service Agreement and receiving an additional three years on top, is a compelling offer for new truck owners to consider.”
In the dynamic world of trucking, navigating the road ahead requires not just skill but also reliable support. PSC Insurance Brokers provides meaningful assistance and ensures truck drivers can focus on their journeys with peace of mind. OwnerDriver spoke with PSC Insurance Brokers’ John Griffiths to learn more about PSC helps truckies every day.
What challenges do truck drivers and owners face today and how do PSC Insurance Brokers help address these?
Truck drivers and owners face regulatory changes, economic pressures, and everyday road risks. We understand these challenges deeply, offering tailored insurance solutions that provide comprehensive coverage adapted to each client’s unique needs.
What should truck owners look for in an insurance provider?
Trust and reliability are paramount. Truck owners should seek an insurance provider who understands their business and the specific risks associated with it. At PSC GGIB Insurance Brokers, we pride ourselves on being a trusted partner not just in insurance but in business. Our personalised approach to risk management ensures each client receives coverage that fits their unique needs. We
also believe in transparency and keeping our clients informed, so they always know what their policy covers and how it works.
Why is personalised service so important in the trucking industry?
The trucking industry is incredibly diverse, with no two operations being exactly the same. Personalised service means understanding the unique aspects of each client’s business and providing solutions that
address their specific challenges.
At PSC, we take the time to listen and learn about our clients’ operations. This allows us to offer insurance solutions that are not only effective but also provide peace of mind, knowing they are well-protected.
For more information and to connect with PSC Insurance Brokers, call John Griffiths on mobile, 0418 722 177 or the team on 03 5821 7777 or email admin@pscggib.com.au
Specialists in CAT and Cummins Engines also carrying parts for all American Truck Brands and Road Ranger Gearboxes. Rebuilt and Second Hand Options Available. Warranty with all second hand and rebuilt engines.
CAT C-15 Rebuild (6NZ or 9NZ Prefix) $48,000 + GST exchange on Special Until EOFY or While Stocks Last. (Block Work, Pistons/Sleeves, Cyl Head, Injectors, Turbo, Camshaft, Rocker Gear, Water Pump, Oil Pump). 12 Months Parts Warranty, 6 Months Return to Base Labour. 550 HP Spec.
CAT C13 Engine (KCB Prefix) $25,000 + GST exchange. Second hand engine with 600,000km on it. Runs good with good oil pressure. 60 Days Return to Base Warranty. 470 HP Spec.
CAT C15 Acert Engine (NXS Prefix) $26,000 + GST exchange. Second hand engine. Has had a bearing roll (mains and big ends). 60 Days Return to Base Warranty. 550 HP Spec.
5480
Cummins Signature Gen 2 Rebuilt Engine $48,000 + GST exchange on Special until EOFY or Stocks Last. Block Work, Pistons & Sleeves, Cylinder Head, Turbo, Camshafts, Injectors, Water Pump, Oil Pump all done. 12 Months Parts Warranty and 6 Months Labour.
Cummins ISX 475 Engine Second Hand Engine. $22,000 + GST exchange on Special Until EOFY. Good Oil Pressure, Ran Good. 60 Days Return to Base Warranty.
Cummins Signature Gen 2 Second Hand Engine
$25,000 + GST exchange. Good Oil Pressure, Ran Good. 60 Days Return to Base Warranty.
Cummins ISX Signature EGR Engine. $52,000 + GST Exchange on special until EOFY or Stocks Last. Blockwork, Pistons & Sleeves, Cylinder Head, Turbo, Camshafts, Water Pump, Oil Pump.
Road Ranger Gearboxes Reconditioned and Second Hand. All genuine Eaton Parts in reconditioned boxes. Various models available including 16718B, 16918B, 18918B, 20918B, 22918B. Call for pricing and availability of your preference.
Are you a tipper operator? If so, do these scenarios sound familiar?
A driver has lost their docket, so you won’t be paid for the loads.
You spend time hunting down dockets from your drivers or your subbies every month.
You spend hours at the end of the month compiling dockets so you can send an invoice to your customers.
Imagine a world where these scenarios don’t happen. These scenarios are faced daily by tipper operators; however, they don’t need to be.
Australian-based company TipTraxx has developed a paperless docket system specifically for the Tipper Industry, designed to make life much easier for tipper operators. TipTraxx’s founder Fazal Deen, a well-seasoned tipper operator from a long line of transport operators, says TipTraxx started out as a paperless real-time docket system and soon evolved into a tipper management system.
Fazal says Tipper administration
was very important for the design team and TipTraxx needed to be easy to use for both drivers and allocators.
The result is a program that eliminates the need to collect dockets, automatically uploads docket details in a spreadsheet, then calculates totals for invoicing. It also integrates with leading accounting software, adding the ability to invoice customers directly.
Fazal says that when it comes to paperless digital technology for the transport industry, there are many players out on the market, but they just don’t get the Tipper Industry, like pre-loading, doing split loads or even factoring in rates for different materials and rates for subbies.
“The reason the TipTraxx team could make a system accommodating drivers and allocators is because that’s who we are,” he says.
“TipTraxx’s operational team can jump in a tipper and cart loads, be it a rigid tipper, semi tipper or
multiple combination. The team understood that the Tipper Industry needed to have its own system.”
The admin dashboard for the allocator is easy to navigate and exceptionally user friendly with information and guides readily available.
It can be used on a computer or tablet creating a portable office with everything required to run a tipper operation.
The TipTraxx mobile App is available on Apple or Android devices offering users a very simple interface with plenty of instructions
and guides available if a driver gets stuck.
TipTraxx has been proven to reduce the amount of paperwork for truckies making it an easy choice for operators to move to TipTraxx.
“It’s time to ditch the docket book and make life easier for both drivers and the admin team”.
For more information, go to www.tiptraxx.com.au
Daniel Woods caught up with the team behind the Driving Townsville’s Future program
Townsville is on the hunt for its next generation of transport professionals through the Queensland Transport Association’s (QTA) Driving Townsville Forward program, but the project is no flash in the pan — it’s targeting people who are willing and able to contribute to the industry for the long-haul.
Funding has been provided through the state government’s Jobs Queensland program and is aiming to tackle regional workforce challenges facing the transport industry in Townsville.
20 people will be selected from a range of employment and demographic backgrounds, with QTA Engagement Specialist Lisa Fraser saying people both currently involved in and hoping to enter the transport industry will be targeted evenly among the program’s spots.
“Generally, these government projects require you to target certain cohorts,” Fraser says. “They’re youth, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, long-term unemployed and gender-based criteria.”
“There’s going to be 10 people sourced that either seeking work in the industry, interested in the industry and don’t have any connectivity with employers, and the other 10 will be people who are currently employed in the industry.
“This is the next step in a model where you’ve given industry and schools the orientation of each other and expanded it out to people who are actually ready to get into the workforce and provide them with that base level of knowledge, entry-level skills, knowledge and experience to potentially get work in the sector.”
The Driving Townsville’s Future program will provide its participants with five core competency units to be completed, along with work experience or on the job training.
Fraser says while most of the work is done zoning in on the right applicants to push through the program, the units will be taught in blocks of blended ability levels.
“Usually, they give you 12-18 months to complete a program and a lot of that goes into planning at the start and attracting the applicants,” Fraser says.
“We’ll be doing the training in blocks of 10 participants per block, and that will be a blend of employed candidates as well as those seeking
August 17, 2024. Lowood, Qld
Held at the Lowood Showgrounds in south-east Queensland. Show commences with vehicle parade through Main St, Lowood at 11am. Trucks, bikes, cars on display. Kids’ rides, trade and food stands, bar and live music. Free entry, donations welcome. Raising funds for charity. For further info email lowoodtruckshow@yahoo.com.au, phone Robert on 0467 530 349, or see the Facebook page.
August 23 to 25, 2024. Alice Springs, NT
employment in the industry.”
Programs like the Driving Townsville’s Future program are imperative to propping up the ailing numbers of young people in the transport industry.
A recent survey from NatRoad found just 6.2 per cent of all drivers in Australia were under the age of 25, while just 6.5 per cent are women.
Almost half of drivers are over the age of 55 and the average age of the truck driving industry is 49.
Fraser believes since traditional pathways intro the transport industry are closing up, programs like Driving Townsville’s Future are imperative to helping not only introduce people to the transport sector, but ensuring they stay there.
“The traditional way a lot of new entrants used to come into the industry was they grew up around it and went to depots after school, but with the increased levels of compliance and insurance implications a lot of that has gone,”
Fraser says.
“The industry has got to come up with ways to work within the confines of the system that will ensure young people are firstly kept safe, but also are provided with that hands on experience.
“It’s really important for the sustainability of regional transport businesses to be able to attract new entrants into their business.
“It may not just be young people, it may be people moving from one career into the next.”
The National Transport Historical Society and The Old Ghan Historical Society present the ‘Festival of Transport’. Along with the regular reunion activities, including Shell Rimula Induction Ceremony and Transport Women Unite Red Ball on August 24, and Cummins Race Day on August 25. Other events include Welcome Drinks on August 24 at 6pm, Transport Women Breakfast, and a museum open day on August 25.
For more information and nomination forms see the website at www.roadtransporthall. com, Facebook page, email info@roadtransporthall.com or phone 08 8952 7161.
September 12-13, 2024. Coffs Harbour, NSW
NatRoad Connect 2024 is a must-attend event for the Australian road transport industry. The event connects industry representatives, operators, NatRoad members and Partners with practical operational information and advice. Inspiring keynote speakers and industry experts will address key business issues including driver shortage, compliance and legal updates. and decarbonation. There will be a range of opportunities to network and connect with peers including The Cummins and PACCAR and its Dealer Industry Fund Gala Dinner, presentation of the NTI NatRoad Awards and many more catered networking opportunities across the two days.
For further information and to register, visit natroad.com.au/conferences, or contact NatRoad on 1800 272 144 or info@natroad.com.au
September 18 to 19, 2024. Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre, Victoria
Leaders from across the supply chain will gather at the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre to discuss the future of the logistics industry at MEGATRANS, an integrated trade exhibition and conference showcasing the full freight and logistics supply chain, spanning warehousing and logistics, through to multimodal freight and final mile delivery.
For further details and tickets, see the website at www.megatrans.com.au
WAUCHOPE YESTERYEAR TRUCK & MACHINERY
October 5-6, 2024. Wauchope, NSW.
Held at the Wauchope Showground, this year’s event has been moved to October with plans for a bigger show. Classic and new trucks, tractors and on show, food and drink available (no Saturday night dinner).
For further info email wytmc.inc@hotmail.com or see the Wauchope Yesteryear Truck & Machinery Club Inc Facebook page.
LIGHTS ON THE HILL MEMORIAL CONVOY
October 5 to 6, 2024. Gatton, Queensland
The 2024 Lights on the Hill Memorial Convoy is planned to be held on October 5 with twin convoys leaving from Brown & Hurley Toowoomba and Mica St, Carole Park in Brisbane, en route to Gatton Showgrounds with the Memorial service to be held on October 6 at the Lake Apex Memorial Wall. Live music at the showgrounds, kids’ entertainment, markets, trade and food stalls.
For further information go to the Lights On The Hill website lightsonthehill.com.au or see the Facebook page at www.facebook.com/lightsonthehillmemorial
November 9, 2024
Held in conjuction with the annual Mullumbimby Agricultural Show. Truck registrations open from 9am at the Mullumbimby Industrial Estate off Manns Rd. Drivers to register their vehicles before the truck parade through town at 11am, travelling through town to the showgrounds. All the attractions of a country show including sideshow alley, rides, food vans, full bar facilities andlive music. Other features include horse and cattle events including trotting.
For further truck show info see the registration form at www.mullumbimbyshow.org. au or phone Mark on 0427 634 903 or email wardysmachinerycentre@gmail.com
Ever wondered how old the oldest truck driver on the road somewhere might be?
Well, wonder no more. In May, Doyle Archer of Coomes Inc in Phillipsburg, Kansas, was recognised by the Guinness Book of World Records as the World’s Oldest Truck
after having been caught installing tracking devices on the local
police traffic enforcement cars in her area in a bid to try and help her drivers avoid stops and fines.
Police found the black box and tracked her down via the SIM card.
It’s that time of year again where we pay tribute to our Dads in our lives (it’s September 1 this year in case anyone needs a calendar update). In honour of these fine folk, here’s a few jokes (with thanks to www.rd.com/list/fathers-dayjokes/) to keep the old man entertained over that annual beer.
1. When is the best time to ask a horse a question? During a Q and hay.
2. What TV news show features interviews with parents? Meet the Stressed.
3. Why did the bald dad use his credit card at the wig shop? Toupee.
4. What do you call a misleading commercial about Father’s Day? False dad-vertising.
5. How should you celebrate Dad at Father’s Day brunch? With a toast.
6. What do you call a French father who eats too much? The I’m Full Tower.
7. What makes an egg laugh? Dad yolks.
8. What do you call a ghost mystery? A boo-dunnit!
9. When do carpenters play pranks? On April Tools Day!
10. How do young dogs drink without spilling? They use a sippy pup.
The transport industry lost a dedicated supporter on July 7 when former TWU Adelaide Branch Secretary Ian Smith died
In early July, I received the devastating news that a good mate of mine, Ian Smith passed away after a long battle with cancer. I’ve had the privilege of knowing Smithy for over 10 years and saw first-hand his contribution to the trucking and wider transport industry, as the local TWU Branch Secretary in Adelaide.
Smithy was a truck driver from way back, leading the way as a Union delegate where he helped champion a national agreement with TNT to get fairer standards for drivers across the country, which was the first of its kind in Australia.
Then he worked as an organiser helping lift wages and conditions for truck operators and other transport workers before becoming Branch Secretary and never looked back.
Smithy was a great voice for transport workers, constantly fronting the media and bringing the rights of transport workers into the public eye. But he had even more of an impact behind the scenes and wasn’t afraid to give both barrels to anyone who asked for it.
Trucking, as we all know, can be a thankless job. Many hours spent away from loved ones on the road, with rates getting constantly eaten into with rising fuel and maintenance costs, unscrupulous clients and all sorts of daily challenges.
It’s for this reason that people like Smithy are so valuable to our sector — because they stand up for drivers and owner drivers, and say “enough is enough, drivers need better pay, better conditions and we’ll take to the streets if we don’t get it”.
Smithy didn’t just say it, he would back it up. If it wasn’t for courageous people in our industry, like Smithy, there’s no telling where the industry would be. Smithy would be the first bloke to stand up if he saw something wasn’t right and I think this is a big part of his legacy, both in the industry, but also as a person.
I was personally involved in several industrial campaigns with Smithy, affecting both owner drivers and company drivers, and saw his passion and commitment first-hand.
One of his biggest achievements was fighting for transport reform. During last year’s Transport Reform
convoys, despite being unable to drive due to his illness, Smithy stood on the curb with a big flag and waved on drivers as the convoy kicked off. After the convoy he gathered the truckies and gave one of his big pep talks, driving home the importance of fighting for these reforms and the impact it will make to our working conditions.
After all the work that has gone on behind the scenes in Parliament in lobbying politicians and public facing activities like convoys, it’s finally good to see the with Closing the Loopholes laws coming into fruition on August 26th. The legislation finally takes effect after decades of fighting for changes to road transport law.
Consideration has been given to ensuring changes don’t disadvantage owner drivers, fleet owners and the like. This is important because much of the focus has been on the relationship between truck operators and the people at the top of the supply chain, but as we know, these dynamics also apply to us as owner drivers.
The legislation stipulates that an
expert panel sets minimum standards to protect road transport workers. I’m glad that we’ll have a panel in place with people that understand the day-to-day challenges that come with being a successful truck operator. This way it will be more relevant and practical in terms of how we operate, and informed by driver experiences and challenges that arise on the road, or when we reach depots, or pick up and delivery points.
The laws are designed to ensure we’re remunerated fairly and accurately for the time and effort we put in to complete our tasks, taking into account external delays. In the long run they’ll help create a safer working environment.
The new legislation also gives owner drivers an added safety net when it comes to job security with protection against unfair contract terminations becoming an automatic right – something we’ve never had before. This means we can have more confidence to push back against unreasonable requests or raise issues that arise without worrying we’ll lose a lucrative contract over it. We can have greater negotiating power and less fear about voicing our concerns, so this already goes a big step towards restoring the huge power imbalance that has been at play for decades.
I know that giving the Fair Work Commission the power to set standards in the industry isn’t a silver bullet for any of the issues that we face, however it is a layer of protection that gives us a bit more security and helps our operations remain sustainable, going forward. Those at the top are always going to be driven towards profit, there’s an inevitability about that. But having safeguards allows for a system that balances the need for profit and an efficient transport sector, with the safety and financial security of truck operators.
“One of his biggest achievements was fighting for transport reform.”
