Table of contents for Issue 349 in Owner Driver

The decision by Western Australia premier Mark McGowan to backflip on his February 5 decision to open the state’s borders to the rest of the country comes as no surprise. Day after day, as positive case and hospitalisation numbers have continued to rise in the eastern states, WA has enjoyed very low numbers. Queensland attempted the same tactic until Omicron arrived. That state’s numbers have skyrocketed as holiday makers and too-cool-for-school northern NSW anti-vaxxers stream across the border now that restrictions have been lifted. The alternative? Keep the other states out and, for all intents and purposes, cease to be part of the nation. Thankfully common sense prevailed. But while COVID numbers have dramatically risen, so have vaccinations. It is hoped that the eastern states will weather the storm, especially…

Everyone deserves to feel protected at work and return home safely after travelling on our roads. For those employed in the heavy vehicle industry, most of their work is undertaken in transit, where close to half a million heavy vehicles – and almost 20 million passenger vehicles – share Australia’s road network. Recently the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator commissioned a survey of 500 16-to-25-year-old L and P licence holders, which found there is a gap in understanding of the key basics about how to drive safely around trucks. We focused on common truck manoeuvres and rules, particularly what to do when trucks are turning or stopping, and how to safely overtake a truck. As these are the key situations where many light and heavy vehicle crashes can occur. The results…

Entering our third pandemic year, owner-drivers and small fleet operators are frustrated and exhausted. The transport industry has carried Australia’s pandemic response, moving essential goods and medical supplies across the country, including during this most recent Omicron wave. Drivers have put up with extraordinary demand, confusing border changes and little support to stay safe from the virus, all while wealthy retailers, supermarkets and manufacturers at the top dial up the deadly contracting pressures they put on national supply chains. Yet, despite the odds, drivers have risen to meet the challenges thrown at them because they know the country was relying on them to keep working. In exchange, owner-drivers and small fleet operators only want what’s fair: government responses to the pandemic which make their difficult job easier and not unnecessarily…

With Valentine’s Day upon us, it’s a great time to take a look at heart health and the small changes you can make to reduce your risk of heart disease. There is strong evidence that suggests sitting for long periods of time puts you at greater risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes. When your job involves many hours sitting in a truck you are already at a disadvantage. Wherever possible break up your day with intervals of standing, stretching and exercising (keep some resistance bands or weights in your cab), and if you are carrying an extra tyre around the waist, work on dropping some weight. One to three kilos can make a big difference. Easy ways to getting started include downsizing your meals, avoiding high-kilojoule options and…

Supply chains are notoriously complex to manage. Entering the third year of a global pandemic, with undoubtedly more disruption to come, it’s not becoming any easier. It was interesting to see media commentary in January about the empty shelves in Australian retail stores. The author predicted a profound shift from “just in time” lean manufacturing process to one of “just in case”. That means retailers will hold more inventory and source stock from closer to home. Their costs will be higher, but they’ll absorb them or pass them on to consumers, the analysis suggested. What the author didn’t say is that big retailers can also pass on those costs to the road freight sector. Consumers won’t get a look in. That the analysis missed this simply underlines that we are…

There is a lot of hope for the coming year to be better than the last – but I’m not putting too much store in that being the case. Why so negative? Again, it has been demonstrated that we are a nation of idiots – selfish ones at that. Let’s start with the AdBlue fiasco. Are we seeing the car manufacturing situation being reborn? Australian taxpayers subsidised that industry in an effort to maintain employment. The products were world class but the costs in comparison to world standard manufacturing costs were prohibitive. Do I have to remind readers that Australia is an island? Being an island can be both an asset and a liability. Unless we can be self-sufficient to some degree, being an island in Australia’s case is being…

Daimler Truck, Traton Group and Volvo Group have signed a binding agreement to create a joint venture to install and operate a high-performance public charging network for battery electric, heavy-duty long-haul trucks and coaches across Europe. The truck-making trio said each was committed to initiating and accelerating the necessary build-up of charging infrastructure for the increasing number of customers of electric vehicles in Europe and to contribute to climate-neutral transportation in Europe by 2050. Last November Daimler announced partnerships with fuel companies BP and Total to investigate building nearly 200 hydrogen refuelling stations across Europe. The planned joint venture — to be equally owned by the three parties — is scheduled to begin operations this year following completion of all regulatory approval processes. The parties have committed to invest €500…

With more than 250 drivers delivering millions of litres of fuel every year to country Australia, regional fuel transporter Lowes Petroleum is recognising its commitment to safety with the introduction of their inaugural professional driver awards. Lowes Petroleum’s general manager of health, safety and environment (HSE), Bernie Morris, says the company had been looking for a way to acknowledge the professionalism of its drivers. Morris explains that when the company threw its support behind the Australian Road Safety Foundation’s annual national awareness campaign, Rural Road Safety Month, the natural addition and next step was the inaugural award. “Every day we are receiving comments from customers and the public to ‘stop and go’ traffic people about our drivers’ professionalism and this was the perfect way to acknowledge this,” he says. “Often,…

As a part of the National Road Freighters Association (NRFA) board, I have seen the opportunities and the failures drivers and operators are having to deal with, sometimes on a daily basis. The advantage our membership has over other groups representing drivers is that our board is working – we are on the ground involved in industry, doing the work, dealing with the issues the same as our members. And we understand. The NRFA has many connections with regulators and politicians and we can call for assistance but, more importantly, are called upon to be part of industry groups. I encourage drivers and operators to become a member of NFRA and join with us to make a difference. We are a grass roots organisation. For those readers who are already…

Camera surveillance is part and parcel of our lives today, and has become entwined with enforcement. For drivers and operators in the transport industry, camera surveillance has become more or less accepted as the status quo. Increasingly, operators are turning to in-cab surveillance to protect their interests, and at least one driver from North Queensland is paying the high cost of that (self)interest. As a legal practice, Highway Advocates Pty Ltd fields enquiries from drivers and operators all over Australia. Many of those enquiries relate to camera offences, ranging from Safety-T-Cam, speed and red-light cameras. Mobile phone cameras come into the mix also, and let’s not forget average speed and point-to-point cameras. All of them have a question mark hanging over them in one way or another. For instance, see…

SEX O’CLOCK Anita Lane Mute/PIAS www.mute.com Australian singer-songwriter Anita Lane, who passed away in April 2021, had a limited solo career but was a noted collaborator with Nick Cave and fellow Bad Seeds musician Mick Harvey. Prior to her death, Mute Records began working with Lane on the “20th Anniversary Reissue” on what was to be her final solo album Sex O’Clock, which is now available on vinyl. Lane’s vocals lie somewhere between whispered and sultry. She is notably understated behind the rhythmic percussion and guitars on ‘Do That Thing’ as she sings of erotic potions and the like. Lane continues to tempt on the slowerpaced ‘The Next Man That I See’, but she changes the mood with a cover of Gil Scott-Heron’s ‘Home Is Where The Hatred Is’. She…

BOYUP BROOK UTE AND TRUCK MUSTER February 19, 2022. Boyup Brook, Western Australia The Boyup Brook Ute and Truck Muster is incorporated into the annual Boyup Brook Country Music Festival, which has been rescheduled (due to health advice) to run from February 18 to 20, 2022. Truck registration 8am at Old Railway Staton. Includes parade through town continuing to Hockey Oval on Jackson St. $10,000 in prizes over 14 categories. Live entertanment, licensed bar. For further info see the Facebook page, email uteandtruckmuster@countrymusicwa.com.au or see the website https://www.countrymusicwa.com.au/ute-truck-muster NATROAD CONFERENCE 2022 March 17 to 19, 2022. Gold Coast, Queensland After a difficult two years for road freight operators, NatRoad is pleased to invite members to the NatRoad National Conference 2022, to be held at the InterContinental Sanctuary Cove Resort, Gold…

The election is coming and we are Morrison’s sacrificial lambs. The worker shortage crisis we’re facing was both predictable and preventable. Morrison chose to ignore our warnings so, once again, we are forced to grab the shovel and dig the Prime Minister out of his latest hole at great expense to our own safety. When we needed the federal government to create a national plan for transport as the country reopened, including free rapid tests, Scott Morrison was already doing his infamous disappearing act. Morrison was so distracted by his election prospects he set the date for freedom to score popularity points with hopeful holidaymakers and checked out. This was possibly the biggest own goal the Prime Minister has ever scored. Just look at the mess we’re in only a…

I aim to focus on two things to start the year. On a trip back from Central Queensland, I found three ‘stopping bays’ all in a row. And I mean one after the other. So three within one kilometre! Now that must be nice for the third vehicle (and they were barely big enough for a B-double if that) to be able to stop when the first two were full. We have been asking for more and better rest areas for years and this has at least, until recently, been generally ignored because they are not important to those who fund them. How many pollies or bureaucrats will ever sleep in one? We have begged and pleaded and explained our need to get decent rest and sleep. If we do…

Eeryone knows that driver fatigue offences can result in hefty fines. But not everyone realises that there are some fatigue offences that also carry demerit points. It’s an important thing to be aware of because the points often aren’t mentioned until after the fines are paid. Then it’s a nasty surprise when the unexpected demerit points reach your record. In this article, I’m going to discuss some of the more common fatigue offences that carry demerit points and what you can do to avoid the points if your offence happens in New South Wales. WHICH FATIGUE OFFENCES CARRY DEMERIT POINTS? Work and rest hour offences are broken up into ‘risk categories’. The category that an offence falls into is calculated by how many extra minutes were worked or by how…

The latest Kenworth T909 fleet acquisition for Moss Vale-based Graham Brown & Daughter Transport is a far cry from the single-drive 3070 International that set the wheels in motion many years ago. Botany, five days per week. “I always wanted to have my own truck,” The early days saw Graham running the 3070 from a rented property in the NSW Southern Highlands town, carting fresh hides from the Berrima abattoir into says Graham. “I saw the truck advertised and came and inspected it and bought it.” The trucking of the hides went well for Graham, however, running it from the rental property he was living in did not. “I ended up getting a bit of a hard time from the owner for backing the prime mover onto his concrete, which…

ROOM 822 Emily Barker & Lukas Drinkwater Thirty Tigers/Cooking Vinyl www.emilybarker.com Talented England-based Australian singer-songwriter Emily Barker has teamed up with UK multiinstrumentalist and producer Lukas Drinkwater for this 10-track album. At Barker’s suggestion, Room 822 is a selection of songs previously released by Australian artists. Using acoustic instruments, the album was recorded in a Perth hotel room while in isolation. Barker’s seemingly fragile vocals present Kasey Chamber’s ‘The Captain’ in a new light, and the pair harmonise well on The Waifs’ ‘London Still’. Paul Kelly’s ‘Sleep, Australia, Sleep’ is completely pared back, while country star Fanny Lumsden adds classy vocals to ‘Under The Milky Way’. Another talented Aussie, Jack Carty, adds his talents to Alex Lloyd’s ‘Black The Sun’, the song almost unrecognisable from its original rock sound. LOCAL…

Progress. Besides being a ripper Midnight Oil song it’s an ideal praised and despised in equal measure because of the doubled-edged nature of this manmade concept. Progress in a transformative sense has given us every technological marvel we use today, including the internal combustion engine, but while these labour-saving devices have made our lives more convenient, the cost is only now being felt. Back in 1964, the phrase ‘climate change’ hadn’t been coined and Ford, with its Big Red experimental truck (powered by an engine more at home in aviation circles than on the road), wanted to see what the future could look like when trucks and the relatively new technology of turbine engines were put together. To say the teams involved in the creation of Big Red were excited…