Table of contents for Issue 325 in Owner Driver

AUSTRALIA is a large and, compared to other first world countries, a relatively underpopulated country. So it’s obvious that governments don’t have as much wriggle room as countries like the United States when it comes to forking out taxpayer monies to build and maintain highways – or more precisely, our major freight routes. With these vast distances between capital cities and major rural centres, it’s a big job. But it’s importance to keep these roads in good condition to cater for the ever-increasing heavy vehicle traffic, delivering important goods and supplies to Australian communities. Any blacktop imperfections will have an effect, not only the wear and tear on the truck, but the goods that will invariably be bouncing around inside the trailer. Despite the lengths going to secure loads, freight…

THE 2020 running Crawlin’ The Hume has also been renamed the Roger ‘Slasha’ Marchetti Road Run in honour of the late co-organiser, who passed away in early 2019. The organisers released a statement on the Crawlin’ the Hume Facebook page on January 22, stating that “the 2020 event is the 5th time it has been run and with the passing of Roger and dedicating this year’s event in his honour, the decision has been made that this will be the last one”. Crawlin’ The Hume, a parade of vintage trucks, retraces the old highway from Campbellfield in Victoria to Albury where a Saturday night dinner will take place at the Albury Race Club. Vehicles must be over 25 years old and entries close on February 29. For more information and…

IT WOULD be remiss this month to write about anything other than the tragedy that has hit our country, especially considering truck drivers are among the worst affected and those heroically stepping up to help. From all of us at the Transport Workers Union (TWU), thanks and congratulations to the exemplary transport workers who have volunteered their time to bravely fight fires, as well as the truckies helping deliver vital supplies to the worst affected areas, many of whom are doing so at a cost to themselves. We offer our condolences to those who have suffered and are continuing to suffer losses, including earnings. Finally, our gratitude to transport workers around the country for keeping Australia moving throughout this difficult time. Once again, we are reminded how crucial transport workers…

Thanks from the firies To the unknown truckie, we would like to send you a very big “Thank You” for paying for some of our meal at Echuca on January 8, 2020 at the Caltex Roundabout servo. I understand you heard the staff talking about 27 of us (Country Fire Authority Strike team 2095) returning from Cobungra (near Omeo) and handed over $250 towards our lunch. The roadhouse staff and a council paid the rest, with some staff coming in to help for no pay. This was very much appreciated as we would have been paying out of our local fire brigade funds. So anyone going past, drop into the Caltex Roundabout Servo. Blue Wyatt Strike Team Leader 2095 Murrayville, Victoria Urgent need for driver education When are the powers…

IT’S BEEN a big summer for Australia and transport has been at the heart of it as usual. The drought has been cruel to many parts of our country and with widespread fire activity there is real pain in the bush and regional areas where we work and live, and for those we work for. Trucks held up going across to and from Western Australia have really felt the pain, as have those getting diverted in New South Wales and Queensland. It might help remind Mr and Mrs Average how reliant they are on trucks for milk and bread, but only perhaps until the smoke clears. I’ve been reading the other contributor pages and it seems like we are often thinking alike; asking for the basic issues to be fixed…

WHEN IT COMES to misunderstood medical conditions, type 2 diabetes is hard to beat. Despite more than 1.3 million Australians living with diabetes, and around 300 Australians being diagnosed with the condition every day, many people struggle to separate fact from fiction. We cut through the noise to expose the myths. MYTH: Eating too much sugar causes diabetes Eating too much sugar is not the cause of type 2 diabetes but because diabetes is a condition where blood sugar levels are too high, it’s quite common to assume eating too much sugar is the reason. People can develop type 2 diabetes for a number of reasons including genetics (family history, which can’t be changed), lifestyle (which can be changed) and some illnesses. Being overweight is one of the lifestyle risks…

WHAT A WAY TO DIE Brandon Dodd Independent www.facebook.com/BrandonDoddMusic Brandon Dodd joined Kasey Chambers’ band at age 19, as well as fronting blues-rock outfit Grizzlee Train. Now aged 24, Dodd has released his impressive debut solo album What A Way To Die. Chambers, along with her dad Bill Chambers, helps out on the slow and purposeful ‘Like A Diamond’. Elsewhere, ‘Whiskey Room Shuffle’ is a mid-tempo country rock track featuring nice guitar licks, and ‘Dalai Lama’ and ‘Water Turns To Rain’ are grungy inclusions in the style of US band Crazy Horse. At times Dodd’s vocals bear similarity to those of Englishman David Gray, especially on ‘Absolute’, about a music-teaching sojourn to the African country of Zambia, and there’s a simplistic down-home tone to ‘Dying To Find Out’. WILDCARD Miranda…

A RECOVERY PLAN for trucking businesses affected by the bushfire crisis has been proposed to the Australian Government. Developed by the Australian Trucking Association (ATA) general council and put forward to federal transport minister Michael McCormack, the plan comprises disaster recovery allowance, concessional loans, and extension of the instant asset write-off. The recommendations include: • the Disaster Recovery Allowance be made available as a wage subsidy to employers who can demonstrate loss or hardship as a result of the bushfires and that the allowance or any wage subsidy be extended from 13 to 26 weeks • the Western Australian Shires of Dundas and Coolgardie should be disaster declared, so owner drivers held up by the closure of the Eyre and Coolgardie-Esperance highways can access the assistance • small business owners…

National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) safety and compliance officers are being issued body-worn cameras (BWCs) after a recent trial in South Australia and Tasmania. The BWC is a portable camera worn by NHVR officers to capture audio and video recordings of interactions between officers and those involved in heavy vehicle transport activities. The regulator also points to important safety benefits by encouraging safe and mutually respectful interactions, with the cameras to be worn during intercepts and evidence-gathering activities by all NHVR officers in SA, Victoria, the ACT and Tasmania. NHVR officers will notify drivers and operators at the start of the interaction that the camera is capturing audio and video recordings. Footage from BWCs can be used as evidence in court, and for investigative purposes. “BWCs are now commonplace for…

I HAD THE opportunity of reading some of the submissions to the Senate Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport References Committee. I think it is a reasonable expectation that a prime mover that is legal with a 45ft trailer should be legal in front of a B-double. I have always felt that the one metre extra allowed for a bonnet on a B-double was insufficient. When I provided Rod Hannifey with the inaugural prime mover for his TruckRight Industry Vehicle venture, I had to replace a perfectly good bullbar with one that complied with the front underrun protection regulations. Why? Because the little Kenworth – with its current bar – exceeded 25 metres by a whisker. While some operators do have 48ft trailers, I wouldn’t judge such outfits as complying…

Call to caravaners: How to share rest areas Having towed a 3T caravan 15,000km across Australia and the east cost, and having worked on the National Heavy Vehicle Law, I get it. I basically do what the video says, because it’s common sense. I’m encouraged by truckies willing to share too. But caravaners have a similar problem to trucks. Some rest areas are ‘cars only’, some are ‘for cars’ (so we don’t know the length or height available), and some are ‘trucks only’. So where the heck do caravaners go? I’d be surprised whether any of it is legally enforceable, and a few truckies act like they own the truck bays. So, I asked VicRoads how I can select a rest area for an overnight stop ... and they couldn’t…

AS I WRITE, the rainfall Australians have been praying for has finally arrived. It is a moment of hope, and it turns our minds to the huge recovery mission required to rebuild our nation. The disaster we’ve been living through this summer has impacted us all and will continue to do so over the months and even years while we recover. I’ve been fortunate that my losses have been small, compared to many others who’ve lost so much. I’ve managed to steer away from danger by following the instructions of the authorities and detouring where necessary. But I know many were not so lucky as to have that choice. There’s a collective murmur in the trucking industry as we weigh up the damages and count our losses. We’re again reminded…

Diabetes mellitus (or simply diabetes) refers to a group of serious lifelong conditions where there is too much glucose in the blood. Glucose is your body’s main source of energy. It comes from the carbohydrates in food and drink you consume. You need a steady supply of glucose each day to fuel your body. Insulin, a hormone made by your pancreas, assists the glucose to move from the bloodstream into the cells of your body to be used for energy. In diabetes, the pancreas cannot make enough insulin or the insulin it does make does not work properly. As glucose needs insulin to move easily into the cells, the lack of insulin results in a build-up of glucose in the blood stream. This is known as ‘hyperglycaemia’ or high blood…

THE LAUNCH of a new women’s trucking organisation has been backed by the Heavy Vehicle Safety Initiative (HVSI). Women in Trucking Australia (WITA), the brainchild of CEO Lyndal Denny, was one of 24 recipients to receive funding through the latest round federally supported National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) initiative. Two of the group’s aims are to encourage and support more women into driving careers, and reduce risky behaviour through a series of heavy vehicle road safety advertisements on television. The latter campaign, scheduled to air nationally late January, was introduced on January 18 as part of the organisation’s official launch. Denny, a road train driver for Qube Logistics, says she believes enlisting female truckies in an industry often seen as male-dominated will make viewers sit up and take notice. “We…

MOST TRUCK drivers have war stories about narrowly avoiding accidents with cars that don’t drive safely around them. I’m sure many of you have added a few close calls over the past few months, with the extra holiday makers and caravans on the road. Many truck drivers are frustrated. While the heavy vehicle industry seems to cop a lot of blame when it comes to road safety, it can feel like not a lot is done about car drivers who cause dangerous situations around trucks. But there are steps you can take as a truck driver when a car cuts you off or otherwise causes havoc around you. One of the biggest misconceptions is that police can’t take action unless they witness the incident. This isn’t true. There is no…

ONE OF THE THINGS I have asked for in both my Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL) review and senate inquiry submissions is a national road standard. For over four years now I have been asking to get a bit of road fixed just south of Yelarbon. Last call to me, after yet another complaint, was to say there is money allocated for the next financial year. That will be over five years since I first complained. There are worse roads, there are worse bumps, but where is the duty of care of the road authority? They have been informed, many times, that the impacts are severe and there are skid marks off the edge of the road immediately after, which must confirm something happened there to cause a truck to…

ROAD TRANSPORT is one of the most heavily regulated industries in Australia. Truck driver working hours are carefully controlled, with severe penalties for exceeding limits and failing to take sufficient rest breaks. This means every day and night thousands of truck drivers need somewhere to park to take their mandatory rest periods. However, the lack of heavy vehicle rest areas on key freight routes continues to be a challenge. Truck drivers unable to find a private rest area in time have to choose between two illegal options: keep driving or park on a roadside, both safety hazards. Better infrastructure, including suitable rest areas for heavy vehicles, is a major part of heavy vehicle safety improvement. Having adequate and appropriate rest areas is important so that personal and public safety can…

HELLO, YOU BASTARDS: LIVE IN RENO Stone Sour Cooking Vinyl www.stonesour.com For those who long for a return to the politically incorrect days, this live album from US hard rockers Stone Sour will be a godsend. Hello, You Bastards is in fact Stone Sour’s first live album and it’s a showcase of its 16 most popular tracks from 2002 onwards. Led by full-throated singer-lead guitarist Corey Taylor, the band delivers an eviction notice to a lazy love interest on ‘Whiplash Pants’, and becomes feisty and agro on ‘Get Inside’. Stone Sour is at its most laidback on the mid-paced ‘Bother’, an early hit single, and the commercial appeal continues on ‘Tired’, a song that wouldn’t be astray on an Alice Cooper album. The band displays its dislike of religion on…

CAMP QUALITY GEELONG CONVOY February 16, 2020 – Ritchie Bros Auction House, Geelong, Vic. Partnered by Viva Energy, the convoy starts at 8.00am from Ritchie Bros, travelling a specified route around the Geelong area and back to Ritchie Bros where the fun continues with a Show and Shine day. For further info phone 1300 662 267. Or see the website at https://fundraise.campquality.org.au/event/2020-geelong-convoy/ community or the Camp Quality Facebook page at www.facebook. com/CampQualityAU ARTHC TRUCK SHOW AND TRACTOR PULL February 29, 2020 – Gundagai, NSW Held at Gundagai Showground, the Australian Road Transport Heritage Centre event includes Truck Show ’n Shine, Vintage Truck Pull, Ladies Tractor Pull, 4WD Ute Pull, stationary engines, swap meet and market stalls, children’s amusements and heavy horse events. For further information email info@arthc.com.au, see the ARTHC…

WELL, we got here, it’s 2020. Well most of us did, but sadly so many didn’t, and we can only hang our collective heads in shame for not doing more (or less) that would possibly have made a world of difference. I was asked late last year: “How can Safe Rates save lives?” Clearly there are still many that are completely devoid of the knowledge required to have formed the rightful opinion about the lifesaving benefits of having continued with the Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal. Yes, it’s still being spoken of. The bottom line is Safe Rates would have been well and truly sorted by now if it had been able to continue and gain traction, just like when the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) took over the owner-driver permits.…