Table of contents for Issue 351 in Owner Driver

Incessant rain along Australia’s east coast has created havoc for our road transport industry. Trucks stuck behind flooded roads around the NSW northern rivers region has caused major delays in the supply chain. On a minor first world issue, the constant rain, intermingled with a few days of sunshine, has caused vegetation to grow like wildfire. Talk about watching the grass grow – you can almost see it sprouting right before your eyes. So, as soon as the clouds take a break, it’s out with the lawnmower to tackle the ever-decreasing areas of lawn that exist in suburban blocks nowadays. Increasing fuel prices don’t play such a big part here, but the convenience of owning an electric mower means not needing to head down to the local servo every so…

The OzHelp Foundation (OzHelp) has announced its Health in Gear Ambassadors for 2022, who it says will help raise awareness of the program and the importance of truck driver health and wellbeing. There are three new ambassadors – Kate Beck, Ian (Eno) Taylor and Sally Tipping – joining two continuing ambassadors, Rod Hannifey and Lyndal Denny. The ambassadors come directly from the transport industry with first-hand knowledge of the challenges drivers face on and off the road and are passionate about improving health and wellbeing in the industry. OzHelp CEO Darren Black said he was incredibly pleased to welcome new and continuing ambassadors, noting their skills and experience, and generosity in volunteering their time to support the Health in Gear program. “Ambassadors play a big role, sharing their knowledge, using…

Though our publication is named OwnerDriver, the old school persona associated with that turn of phrase is harder and harder to find, mainly because ownerdrivers are too busy to stop and chat. So, when the opportunity did arise to meet a young passion-driven family having a crack, I wanted to find out more. What makes this story even more exceptional, though, is that the single truck at the centre of this family’s endeavour is a tow truck. Andrew Johnson and Donna Norton are living in the ‘City of Tow Trucks’, naming their operation Wombats Heavy Towing. It’s still a business in its infancy but, after a couple of years, it’s really starting to forage. Sorry, I meant flourish – thought I’d try a little wombat humour. A couple of things…

Through a decade-long Transport Workers Union (TWU) New South Wales campaign to get fair pay increases for owner-driver couriers, AmazonFlex has been brought kicking and screaming into the fold and held to account for the substandard pay and conditions it has been imposing on drivers it says are independent contractors. This is a major blow to Amazon’s game of underpaying drivers using their own cars to deliver parcels under the independent contractor model widely exploited across the gig economy. In the US this same gig model is being used in trucking through Amazon Relay – with truck drivers picking up work through an app at low rates set by Amazon. In the landmark decision by the NSW Industrial Relations Commission, ownerdrivers of vans with a carrying capacity between 1.5 and…

DRY SEASON Blake Dantier Compass Bros/Universal www.blakedantier.com.au Born and bred down the hill from the Blue Mountains, Blake Dantier has spent two years preparing for the launch of Dry Season, his debut album. During that time, Dantier offered listeners a preview, releasing six singles that are among the album’s 11 songs. The title track is pure country rock, the barroom theme continuing on the mid-paced ‘Wish You Were My Beer’. Lawrie Minson adds harmonica to the honky-tonkin’ ‘Last Call’, and Adam Harvey brings his rich tones to the western swing-styled ‘You Don’t Mix Whiskey’. Dantier’s vocals are the real country deal – take a listen to the sensitive ballad ‘When She Gets Home’ – and he has a host of gun studio musos to give Dry Season that X factor. JAMIE MCDELL Jamie…

Many of the people we talk to who live with type 2 diabetes tell us they are regularly asked questions about their condition that test their patience. Here is list of the most common questions people get asked. Read on to find out the answers to some of the myths you might have heard. 1. DIABETES? HOW DID YOU GET THAT? It’s complicated. About 40 per cent of type 2 diabetes cannot be delayed or prevented. It has been said that “genetics loads the gun and the environment pulls the trigger” in conditions such as type 2 diabetes. It is important to recognise that science still does not have all the answers, but we do know that you are at a much greater risk of type 2 diabetes if: •…

The double disaster of flooding and fuel prices means we’re working longer and harder for less. Diverting around flood-damaged highways keeps us on the road with the engine turning for a significant amount of extra hours of each leg. Take the Sydney-Brisbane journey as an example – with parts of the Pacific Highway out of action it takes about three to four hours extra along winding mountain roads with more traffic and fewer rest stops. Accounting for the extra time, steep hills, and skyrocketing fuel costs, that’s at least $250 extra cost for each leg. A couple of return runs a week and that’s another $1,000 to find just on the fuel, not to mention the extra hours of work. The journeys are exhausting, and the additional time on the…

Truck makers including Scania, Daimler and Volvo have turned a cold shoulder in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine with sales, parts and manufacturing capabilities frozen. Daimler Truck says it will suspend production and parts supply to Russia’s largest truck maker, Kamaz, with which it has a joint-venture agreement for production of trucks in Russia. This halting of business is to have immediate effect according to Reuters, which cited a Daimler internal memo shared with the news outlet. Mere months after its spin-off from Daimler, Mercedes-Benz Group is also reportedly looking to divest it 15 per cent share of Kamaz according to German newspaper Handelsblatt. Volvo has suspended all operations at its production facility in Kaluga, Russia, about 180km south-west of Moscow, as well as freezing sales of truck and…

The National Transport Commission (NTC) has announced that a new national initiative, to showcase women in transport and tackle some of the negative perceptions of a career in this fast-growing industry, is now up and running. Australia’s infrastructure and transport ministers agreed to the National Women in Transport initiative to improve the gender balance within the transport sector. The NTC says it is progressing a series a national-level actions as part of this initiative to increase the number of women working in transport and create a more inclusive modern transport industry. This includes bringing together a network of senior women transport leaders to showcase the work of women in transport in both the public and private sectors. NTC CEO Dr Gillian Miles says Australia is experiencing an infrastructure and transport…

Work diary breaches are one of the most common types of cases we help truck drivers with. Over the years we’ve found there are a few common mistakes that cause most breaches One thing we’ve noticed is that it’s not just new drivers who fall into these traps. We often speak with very experienced drivers who know and follow the rules but still find themselves having to go to court. It boils down to the fact that we’re all human and we all make mistakes. We hope that by taking a moment to talk about these common errors that we can help drivers avoid finding themselves on the wrong side of the law. TRAP 1: MAJOR REST BREAKS DON’T ‘RESET’ THE CLOCK The first mistake that a lot of drivers…

I’m often asked what things regulators need to do to make our road system safer and the answers are obvious to anyone who’s spent any time in a heavy vehicle cabin or talking to those who have. Improving the condition of our roads is number one. Road condition is a causation factor in about 30 per cent of all road crashes, and a factor in the severity of 100 per cent of crashes. The Australian government invests in roads under the National Land Transport Act 2014. Yet, safety is not a specific object of the Act. Similarly, safety is insufficiently prioritised in road spending. In its 2019 infrastructure audit, Infrastructure Australia called for upgrades to high-risk sections of the transport network. Safety improvements to high-risk regional roads should be a…

As the country begins to emerge from the fog of COVID-19, or so we are told, it is an excellent time to reflect on just how truck drivers and operators are faring. It wasn’t that long ago when politicians bandied about terms like ‘essential service’ and ‘carrying the nation’. I write this piece while suffering from a decent dose of the ‘Rona’ myself. I’ll think I’ll pull through but would not wish it upon anyone (I can have my own private thoughts, however). It is real, and we can only imagine the despair felt by truck drivers during the height of the pandemic. Having to endure tests every 72 hours and interpret ever-changing health directions and permits must have caused insufferable hardship to many. I could hardly stand giving myself…

Diesel exhaust fluid: that’s the product the Australian government has done a subsidy thing on to ensure there is sufficient supply to meet Australian road transport demand. The subsidy was to an organisation within Oz that had telegraphed its intention to shut the shop on the manufacture of urea – the base ingredient for the manufacture of diesel exhaust fluid. Note, it is a diesel exhaust additive that reduces or eliminates noxious exhaust output. It is not at all crucial to the operation of diesel internal combustion engines. That is the crux of this discussion. Diesel engines made to conform to the injection of diesel exhaust fluid have had their engine electronic management system designed to make the vehicle inoperative should there be no diesel exhaust fluid available. Indeed, early…

The new TruckRight Industry Vehicle (TIV) is on the road. I will come to it and all who helped a bit later but for the minute I want to talk about advanced technology and Kenworth trucks. Now, many of you would have seen the last TIV. It was on the road for 10 years and, like this one, many sponsors contributed product and other forms of sponsorship for the truck and/or trailers. Kenworth had just launched its EBSS safety package when it hit the road (and this was actually listed on the curtains) and it included ACB (active cruise with brakes), ATC (automatic traction control) and ESP (electronic stability program). Yes, it was and still is an extra to buy when you order a new Kenworth but I had that…

SEND YOUR LETTERS TO: greg.bush@primecreative.com.au or mail to 11-15 Buckhurst St, South Melbourne, Victoria 3205 We prefer letters by e-mail, but handwritten letters will be accorded the same opportunity to be published. Foul facilities For the last 11 years I have personally experienced filthy toilets and showers at truck stops and roadhouses operated by fuel companies all over Australia. While there are facilities which are a pleasure to use, there are many which are not. Numerous complaints have been reported to the staff of the sites, but return in a week or a month, nothing has improved. The public image of many of the fuel companies is disgraceful. Truckies and road pilot drivers use these facilities. These drivers are away from home for many days, even weeks, and depend on…

Diesel prices have always been one of the biggest costs and concerns of anyone running a transport business. As I look at the price at our local truck stop now, it is being sold for the unimaginable price of 229.9 cents per litre. Fuel could hit 1,000 cents/litre and it should not matter. But it does. Why shouldn’t it? And why does it? It should not, as we should be, compensated for the work we do considering the costs we encounter to do said job. I remember talking to one of my mentors as I was making my way into the industry. He said to me it did not matter how expensive it gets as long as the rate went up accordingly. Well, in my time as an owner-driver, fuel…

PAINLESS Nilüfer Yanya ATO/PIAS www.niluferyanya.com West Londoner Nilüfer Yanya has channelled the talents of her Irish-Barbadian mother and Turkish-born father – both visual artists – for her third album Painless. With an eye on experimentation and an ear for rhythm, Yanya launches into the percussion-heavy opening track ‘The Dealer’ where similarities can be drawn with The Pretenders’ Chrissie Hynde. Yanya gets ditched by a lover on ‘Another Life’, another track with a constant beat behind her layered vocals. There’s a rare moment of quietude on ‘Trouble’ amid an eerie keyboard backing before normal upbeat service is resumed on ‘Stabilise’ where Yanya both talks and sings through the track. She’s in two minds on ‘Belong With You’, one of the nonconforming album’s most accessible pieces, although ‘Midnight Sun’ tops it in…

TRUCKING AUSTRALIA 2022 May 4–6, 2022. Gold Coast, Queensland Held at the The Star on Queensland’s Gold Coast and presented by the Australian Trucking Association (ATA). Join the nation’s trucking operators and industry stakeholders to tackle the big issues. Sessions include Heavy Vehicle Industry Australia presenting a masterclass on load restraint, plus the Kenworth Legends Lunch, ATA Auction Dinner, National Trucking Industry Awards at the Foundation Sponsors Gala Dinner and small business seminars. For further information and registration go to Australian Trucking Association’s Trucking Australia website at https://new.truck.net.au/ta PUTTY ROAD TRUCK DRIVERS MEMORIAL SERVICE May 21, 2022. Milbrodale, NSW Held at Garry Miller Memorial Park, Putty Rd, Milbrodale. Service starts at 1pm. Local school providing refreshments from 11am. Afterwards, ticketed reunion dinner at Charbonnier Hotel, Singleton. For dinner tickets and…

Hino Motors Ltd (HML) has confirmed that recent incorrect emissions and fuel economy data does not extend to models sold in Australia. HML had uncovered the falsified data which was said to affect at least 115,526 trucks sold since 2016. In a statement, HML announced that it had suspended the sale of three engine models and their corresponding vehicles in Japan. This followed HML identifying past misconduct in relation to its applications for certification concerning the emissions and fuel economy performance of its engines for the Japanese market. “HML identified misconduct concerning the falsification of engine performance data in emissions durability testing for one engine model and in the measurement of fuel economy performance in certification tests for two other engine models,” the manufacturer says. “In addition, HML has identified…