Tabla de contenidos para Issue 358 en Owner Driver

The Albanese Government has confirmed that new emissions standards for trucks and buses will be introduced in the latter part of 2024. The new ADR80/04 rating will bring Australia’s emissions standards in line with Euro 6. The new standards will be phased in over 12 months from November 1, 2024. Heavy Vehicle Industry Australia (HVIA) congratulated the government on its October announcement. HVIA chief executive Todd Hacking says it will give certainty to the heavy vehicle industry at a time when the delivery time on new orders is stretching out as long as two years. “This is a win for industry and a win for the entire Australian community,” Hacking says. “Prior to this year’s federal election we said we want immediate steps to support the transition to low and…

The National Road Transport Association (NatRoad) has told Austroads that it’s time to move heavy vehicle driver licensing in Australia to a national competency-based system. NatRoad’s call comes in a submission providing feedback on the Consultation Regulation Impact Statement outlining proposed changes to the National Heavy Vehicle Driver Competency Framework. Austroads is the collective of the Australian and New Zealand transport agencies, representing all levels of government and it has been working on needed changes to the heavy vehicle driver licensing system for some time. The current licensing framework has only been implemented in four jurisdictions: New South Wales, Tasmania, Victoria and the Northern Territory. NatRoad wants Austroads to drop its proposal for post-licence behind-the-wheel supervised training and says its members have also made it clear that they do not…

Drivers know all too well the physical and mental health challenges of life on the road. Hours of isolation behind the wheel, bursts of heavy lifting, and demanding delivery schedules can all put a strain on health and wellbeing. It’s taxing work that requires the right energy foods, but maintaining a balanced diet while eating on the road can be challenging; drivers have an increased risk of health issues including high cholesterol, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke and cancer. FUEL YOUR BODY Viva Energy and Scott’s Refrigerated Logistics (ScottsRL) are teaming up to tackle this issue head-on. Their new Fuel Your Body campaign aims to inspire healthy eating habits by providing 1000 healthy food packs to drivers. Emma Stuart, group HSSE (Health, Safety, Security, and Environment) manager at Viva…

Hino Australia has announced the further extension of its dealership network, opening a brand-new dealership at Sale in Victoria’s Gippsland region. “We warmly welcome Gippsland automotive stalwart David Turnbull and his family-led team to Hino – in addition to running a successful Toyota dealership for over 30 years in Yarram and Sale, David hails from a family with a rich automotive heritage spanning four generations over 70 years in the Gippsland region,” says Richard Emery, vice president brand and franchise development for Hino Australia. “Gippsland is a region best known for its primary production such as mining, power generation and farming, which are industries that our Hino range of light, medium and heavy-duty trucks are particularly suited to,” he continues. Dealer principal David Turnbull says he is enthusiastic about joining…

According to Bendix, most drivers accept that brake pads, brake shoes, disc brake rotors and brake drums are wear and tear items that will need periodic replacing, but what about brake calipers? On vehicles fitted with disc brakes, calipers play a crucial role within the braking system, using their hydraulic muscle to squeeze the brake pads against the rotors to safely bring the car, truck or motorbike to a standstill. Despite their important function, brake calipers can sometimes be overlooked, only coming to the attention of the owner or service technician if they notice that their brakes aren’t performing as they should. Because of where calipers are located on the vehicle, they operate in extremely tough conditions being exposed to dirt, road grime, water and even mud – they must…

A review of almost two decades of truck accident data by Australian logistics and transport specialist insurer National Transport Insurance (NTI) has revealed a vast improvement in the trucking industry’s safety performance. NTI has released the 2022 Major Accident Report from its National Truck Accident Research Centre (NTARC) and has analysed trends since 2005. It found while there’s been a 55 per cent increase in the number of trucks on the road and a 51 per cent rise in road freight volumes, the rate of serious truck accidents has not followed this trend. Report author since 2019, Adam Gibson, said the data shows a combination of tighter government regulation and industry investment in safety, technology, professional development and leadership has improved road safety. “We saw, for example, fatigue-related crashes fall…

It’s been a long time between launches for Western Star in Australia. However, following the release of the 47X and 49X models in the US, these two new trucks have made their way across the Pacific Ocean with an extra passenger in tow – the purpose-built 48X. The arrival of the three new models comes on the eve of Western Star’s 40th anniversary in Australia, with big celebrations expected in 2023. As the model identifiers imply, 47X, 48X and 49X will replace the current 4700, 4800 and 4900 models here. However, head of Western Star Trucks at Penske Australia, Kurt Dein, points out that as with the 4800, there is no equivalent to the 48X in North America. “The 4800, having that set forward front axle with the horsepower, torque…

Today’s story will start with a ‘thankyou’. Very formal I know, but I need to thank Dean and Rose Smith and their son Nathan. I’m thanking them for their time and for allowing me to photograph their trucks. Winston Express Haulage is one of those family companies that epitomises the ‘family’ values. They have stunning trucks, kept in mint condition, driven by happy employees and they do it all for the love of the job and the honour of the company, which is great for them, but terrible for me b because the company isn’t interested in attention. They like flying below the radar and just doing a good job for the sake of doing a good job. Again, an admirable trait. However, when their trucks look so damn good…

But let’s face it, Europe is increasingly the hub of most major developments impacting the efficiency, safety and ultimately, performance of heavy-duty trucks around the globe. Nor should anyone lose sight of the fact that on the other side of the Atlantic, the great majority of North America’s truck brands are nowadays offshoots of immense European corporations. Indeed, without Europe’s fiscal and managerial lifelines over the past three or four decades, several famous brands would today be little more than headstones: Freightliner and Mack, for example, and most recently, Navistar. The lone wolf in the pack is, of course, Paccar but even this bastion of American pride has an umbilical attachment to developments within its continental colleague DAF. But to be fair, the Dutch truck would’ve probably also fallen down…

The Castlemaine Rotary Truck Show, this year sponsored by HHA & Larsen’s Truck Sales, is back to its regular format and a huge program on November 26 and 27 following a couple of COVID-affected years. Entries are now open again for the event which is returning with a full program in the historic town of Castlemaine located in the central Victorian Goldfields region. The show is now in its 34th year and its organisers say it’s a popular celebration for the trucking industry and a major fundraiser for the local community. Trophies will be offered across 10 categories. The Rig of the Show winner will take home a $1,000 cash prize, and there’s a special prize for the Best on Ground Saturday. The show is offering a great weekend of…

It’s an odd thing, but long experience drawn from many moments of corporate claptrap and executive evasion have caused me to quietly believe that in the trucking business, there are two types of Swede. The Volvo Swede and the Scania Swede, the Volvo variety almost always more conservative, guarded, reticent and dare I say, cynical than their competitive countrymen. Why that is, well, perhaps it’s a mystery mired in mindsets dating back to each brand’s founding fathers. Whatever, from a perspective gathered over the past 40 years and more, it has never ceased to amaze and at times confound how two great and hugely successful companies from the same Scandinavian country of just 10 million steely souls can produce highly advanced, top-shelf trucks yet give the marked impression of being…

Scania and Rio Tinto have announced the development of more agile autonomous haul trucks at a mine in Western Australia’s Pilbara region to pursue potential environmental and productivity benefits. The two companies have established a long-term research and development collaboration agreement for the continuous advancement of this autonomous technology, under which Rio Tinto’s Channar mine has become the first active partner site for Scania’s autonomous mining solution. The partnership also includes options for the future transition to electric-powered vehicles. Rio Tinto and Scania launched new trials on Scania’s 40-tonne-payload autonomous mining trucks in April 2022 and quickly reached a key milestone of driverless operation in a simulated load and haul cycle environment. Rio Tinto Group technical managing director Santi Pal says Rio Tinto was excited to partner with Scania to…

Following a COVID-enforced hiatus, the annual National Road Transport Association (NatRoad) returned with its annual conference which ran from October 20 to 22 at Sanctuary Cove on Queensland’s Gold Coast. The well-attended conference culminated with the announcement of the National Transport Insurance (NTI)-sponsored 2022 NatRoad award winners during the gala dinner on October 22 which saw individuals recognised for their achievements in the road transport industry. Andy Divall, who operates Divall’s Earthmoving and Bulk Haulage with his brother Mick Divall out of Goulburn, NSW, was awarded the prestigious Ted Pickering Memorial Award. The business was again recognised when a surprised Jamie-Lee Hayes picked up NatRoad’s Excellence in Operational Support. Denham Liddicoat of GC & GE Liddicoat Transport won the Youth Employee of the Year award, while Daniel Thornton, who drives…

Women in Trucking Australia (WiTA) has announced that its ‘Foot in the Door’ program will receive crucial funding from the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator’s (NHVR) Heavy Vehicle Safety Initiative (HVSI), supported by the Federal Government. WiTA CEO Lyndal Denny says the collaborative pilot project – set to be launched early 2023 – will support inexperienced female heavy vehicle drivers into trucking careers nationally. According to Denny, female heavy vehicle driver participation sits at just 1.6 per cent of the total cohort, leaving women as one of the most underutilised industry resources. “WiTA regularly fields calls from self-funded, inexperienced female truck drivers earning a living in other sectors, women who’ve been unable to get a foot in the door of their chosen career,” she says. “Gender bias continues to have a…

Remember that feeling you used to get as a kid on Christmas Eve. Your whole body is tingling with excitement, your brain feels like it’s bouncing around on three cases of Red Bull, joy is just radiating from every pore of your body. That’s the feeling I was enduring on Friday, September 16 as I sat in my motel room just waiting for the sun to have its nana nap and rise again on Saturday morning. Instead of rushing downstair to see if the festive season red-suited fat man had left me anything on my list, I was racing out the door of my motel to see a gallery of cool Kenworths returning to the Hawkesbury Showground for the 2022 Kenworth Klassic. To steal from the Toyota guys – ‘Oh,…

German-owned company Liqui Moly has recently expanded its Australian network and with customers now nationwide. Liqui Moly provide premium quality lubricants, oils, additives, and repair kits for high performance engines in cars and motorbikes and the company’s products are relied on by countless customers to look after the smooth running of their automotive pride and joy. Needless to say, they’ve said to become a bit of a ‘go-to’ product globally for keeping engines in tip-top shape. Liqui Moly’s head of strategic partnerships and community engagement, Belinda Narbey, says with the company’s expansion, they have a adopted a variety of methods of distributing Liqui Moly’s products. “Our main customer base is professional buyers such as independent workshops, while local mechanics also make up a large part of the market,” Narbey says.…

It’s an easy, uncluttered drive of three hours or so from Gothenburg in Sweden to the Norwegian capital Oslo, on excellent roads that don’t deteriorate at the border. There were some electric cars sharing the highway, but not many. Approaching Oslo’s outskirts though, things changed. Dramatically. It’s late morning on a soft autumn Saturday and Oslo’s residents are on the move, simply doing the things weekends bring. The thing is, many are moving in electric cars or vans of one sort or another and suddenly, Norway’s reputation for carbon neutral conscience becomes palpably plain. Cars and vans are not, however, the only indicators of what appears to be a national fixation for fossil-free transport among the country’s five and a half million residents. Indeed, around 30 percent of trucks grossing…

Engineers from the University of NSW in Sydney have announced the successful conversion of a diesel engine to run as a hydrogen-diesel hybrid engine – reducing CO2 emissions by more than 85 per cent in the process. The team, led by Professor Shawn Kook from the School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, is said to have spent around 18 months developing the Hydrogen-Diesel Direct Injection Dual-Fuel System that means existing diesel engines can run using 90 per cent hydrogen as fuel. The researchers say that any diesel engine used in trucks and power equipment in the transportation, agriculture and mining industries could ultimately be retrofitted to the new hybrid system in just a couple of months. Green hydrogen, which is produced using clean renewable energy sources such as wind and…