Table of contents for Issue 323 in Owner Driver

IN PARTNERSHIP with Daimler Truck and Bus Asia Pacific, Transport Women Australia Limited (TWAL) has announced four recipients of Driving The Difference scholarships, with the aim of encouraging and advancing careers in road transport. The winners of the scholarship were announced during the TWAL 20-year anniversary dinner in Melbourne on November 16. They are Katie Hannifey of Dubbo, NSW; Kerri Connors, Eugenana, Tasmania; Manjusha Vanarla, Dandenong, Victoria; and Sarah O’Brien, Wynnum West, Queensland. “These four were chosen from a large list of applicants and it was a very difficult decision to choose the final four,” says TWAL chair Jacquelene Brotherton. Connors is currently studying a Certificate IV in Training and Assessment, Vanarla is studying an introduction to CREO Parametric Training, O’Brien is studying a Diploma in Logistics Management, and Hannifey…

Under the hot spring sun and a light smoke haze drifting down from the New South Wales mid north coast, the 2019 Newcastle Hunter Transport Awareness Day celebrated its 25th anniversary on Sunday, November 10 with another successful event, culminating in a competitive show and shine competition. The day began with a convoy from Sandgate Markets in Newcastle’s north to Maitland Showgrounds. More than 140 trucks took part, prompting Ray Williams, president of the Newcastle Hunter Transport Awareness Group, to claim the Awareness Day event as the “biggest ever”. As well as the convoy, static displays set up during the previous day considerably added to the showground’s truck numbers, with most local dealerships showing off their wares. Through his regular gig at Gilbert & Roach, Hexham, Ray has been an…

IN 1977, the same year this planet was graced/cursed with my presence, there was a documentary that came out to worldwide accolades. The documentary really emphasised the close working relationship between the American trucker and law enforcement officers. Yes, it did emphasis the gap between the objectives of both industries, but it also highlighted a sense of companionship that was at the core of the two diametrically opposed forces. The main representative for the law enforcement industry, Texas County Mounty Sheriff Buford T Justice, showed us the determination of those badged with protecting the safety of our roads, while the protagonist for the transport industry, Cletus ‘Snowman’ Snow, displayed a professional driver’s dogged determination to safely deliver his assigned load in the timeframe stated. By the end of the documentary,…

FOR A COMPANY to be around for a century, and for customers and staff to stay loyal for decades, it must be doing something right. That might sound like an advertising blurb but there was genuine affection for Cummins at a recent gathering to celebrate 100 years since Clessie Cummins started experimenting with three-horsepower diesel engines in Columbus, Indiana, in early 1919. The event was part of the Australian Trucking Association’s Technology and Maintenance Conference (TMC) held recently in Melbourne. “The Cummins engine has been very good to us over a long period of time,” said Kenworth bulk haulage operator Kel Baxter from Berrigan in southern NSW. “They are so well supported … and they have got a very reliable product at the end of the day,” added Baxter, who…

IVECO HAS announced that its last current generation Euro 5 model unit has left the assembly line at the company’s manufacturing facility in Melbourne. Iveco says since its introduction in 1961, the ACCO (or AACO as it was known then, when manufactured on the A Line rather than today’s C line) has become a long-time favourite of the Australian and New Zealand trucking industries, being used in all manner of applications from light rigid to prime mover work and everything in between. Initially developed from the International Mark 3 general service 4x4 vehicle and adapted for civilian use, the ACCO’s design and tough underpinnings saw widespread acceptance of the model which continues today. The current shape ACCO was introduced in 1972 and was further developed on that platform culminating with…

Trade deals Doesn’t matter how good trade deals are if protesters leave us with nothing to trade with. Just another ordinary observation by an ordinary citizen disappointed with the ordinary response; not only from government but from politicians of all political persuasions to protesters manipulating their democratic rights to interfere with the rights of ordinary citizens going about their daily business, making a living and paying taxes (for what)? Graeme Scurr North Arm, Qld Nullarbor eagle I was driving across from Sydney to Perth back around 2003. On leaving the SA/WA border, I began to follow the trucks just after 7am with the thought of letting them clear the way giving them plenty of distance between us after catching a couple of hours at the local roadhouse. As we traversed…

TODAY GUYS, I’m writing a different kind of story, with a different tone to what I normally do, so I appreciate your patience with this one. As a journalist, and in particular a trucking journalist, I get to meet some pretty cool people. From ‘old timers’ with stories that you swear couldn’t be true, to young guys with an optimism and passion for polishing I wish I still possessed. And then there’s everyone in between. This story is different though. At the heart of it is someone I wish I had been able to meet – Kye Yates. Kye was only 10 years old when he passed away earlier this year in a tragic accident on his family farm. Under the shadow of a breathtaking black Kenworth T909 I sat…

For its fifth year, the Diesel Dirt & Turf Expo is being held at the Panthers Penrith, located in the heart of Sydney’s booming Western Sydney region. If you are part of Australia’s earthmoving, construction or public space maintenance industry, it’s an event you just can’t miss. Even if you don’t work in the industry, it’s an exciting place to be for anyone interested in getting up close to big machines, powerful trucks and heavy equipment that is shaping Australia’s residential, commercial and public infrastructure projects. Better every year Every year this Expo is getting bigger and better. Spread over three days, you can be sure there is plenty of time for everyone to visit at their leisure and enjoy soaking up the great field day atmosphere that the whole…

EVERY TWO YEARs on the eve of the Brisbane Truck Show, Volvo Group Australia (VGA) holds a media conference to discuss, among other things, the state of play of each of its three brands and more broadly, deliver an overview of the business and fiscal factors affecting Australian road transport. All up, it’s a worthwhile exercise with the brand executives from Volvo, Mack and UD each extolling the strengths of their respective products, expressing opportunities still to be tapped and, very occasionally, exposing snippets of recent technological advances from within the corporate kingdom. It’s also an event where VGA’s latest leader meets the Australian trucking media en masse for the first time; or at least that has been the case with the last two to join the long line of…

THE CHARM of utes was always a bit lost on me. Growing up in Australia, an indifference to the humble utility was – and still is – sacrilege, so this is the first and last time you’ll hear me admitting I wasn’t always a fan. Things changed when about five years ago (and many cars into my wallet-sapping motoring obsession) I succumbed to the allure of a ute as a budget tow rig. The steed of choice? A BA Falcon ute which – across many years of trouble free daily driving – saw more abuse than your average drift car and less maintenance than a uni student’s first set of wheels. Basically, I just couldn’t kill it. On top of its unexplainable reliability, it was handy. Very handy. I was…

THE BEST staff from the Hino Australia dealer network have competed against each other for the coveted title of National Skills Champion, after winning their way through a series of qualifying rounds held over the past four months. Held in Sydney on November 21, it was the 10th running of the competition, making the Hino National Skills contest one of the longest running and most comprehensive of its type in the truck industry. Eighteen finalists from the sales, service and parts categories demonstrated their expertise through real-world roleplay scenarios, which were predominantly based on the all-new Hino 500 Series Standard Cab. Parts contestants were further challenged to identify genuine and non-genuine parts, while Sales consultants were quizzed on their product knowledge. “Hino Australia’s National Skills Contest is reflective of our…

THE AUSTRALIAN TRUCKING ASSOCIATION’S (ATA’s) safety truck initiative has gained a high-tech upgrade and federal backing to educate young people on safety around heavy vehicles. The Volvo ATA Safety Truck has relaunched as SafeT360 with a specific focus on educating young Australians on how to safely share roads with heavy vehicles. It was launched at Queanbeyan’s Karabar High School in November. SafeT360 is described as an interactive custom-built road safety exhibition that uses virtual reality and interactive messaging all packed into a real travelling truck and trailer. The new truck was developed with the help of creative agency Hard Edge. Visitors to the exhibition will gain an understanding of where a truck’s blind spots are, how long it takes a truck to stop, the dangers of distraction, and other tips…

ANATROAD FORUM, held on November 11, highlighted concerns from truck industry operators regarding legislation surrounding the NorthConnex tunnel. Presentations from NorthConnex project director Daniel Banovic and NSW Roads & Maritime Services (RMS) representative Pat Doyle delivered both the benefits of the Pennant Hills Road bypass and the regulations aimed specifically at truck and bus operators. NorthConnex, which will link Sydney’s M2 and M1 next year, is expected to charge trucks and buses $23.03 each way, rising with the CPI each year. However, several trucking operators in attendance felt that the transport industry was being unfairly singled out for the heavy traffic congestion along Pennant Hills Road. According to NSW government predictions, once the tunnel opens it will remove 5,000 trucks from Pennant Hills Road each day. “It’s in the top…

Thanks to the generosity of Truckline, we are giving away a Truckline Backpack and Cap bundle as a prize for each Letter of the Month in Owner//Driver’s December 2019 edition, as well as the January and February 2020 editions. The winning letter will be chosen by the Owner//Driver team. Truckline is Australia’s largest retailer of aftermarket truck and trailer parts. “We’re looking forward to seeing the lucky few enjoying summer festivities with their backpacks and caps,” says Truckline general manager Martin Hinkley. The Truckline Backpack and Cap bundle, valued at a total of $68.90, is a much sought-after bit of kit. To score one of three Truckline Backpack and Cap bundles, get your creative skills out, write a Letter to the Editor and send it into Owner//Driver’s Your Say page…

A RECORD-BREAKING $2,760.974.25 is the final tally for i98FM’s Illawarra Convoy, held on November 17. The amount was announced on air during the i98 Breakfast Show with Marty Haynes, Christie Hayes and Ryan Cram on November 20. The day saw 753 trucks and 913 motorbikes travel over 70 kilometres from Illawarra Coal’s West Cliff Colliery at Appin, through the streets of the Illawarra, to finish up at Shellharbour Airport. The Convoy arrived for a huge free family fun day, featuring live entertainment from The Hoodoo Gurus, The Veronicas, Jayne Denham, local band Swells and The Yatcon FMX Freestyle Motocross riders. Each year in the days before the event, bidding takes place for who will lead the motorbikes followed by the trucks in the Convoy. For the first time ever, one…

IT HAPPENS every two years. The coming together of the weird, the wonderful and the downright wacky, and in 2019 the Tokyo Motor Show lived up to its long tradition of turning technology into comic relief. I Don’t believe me? Well, consider Hino’s show theme for this year. ‘Transporting Every Happiness’. What the Donald Duck that means is anybody’s guess. In the hall next door, Hino’s corporate boss Toyota was only mildly less fanciful with a theme of ‘Play the Future’, adding to the Fantasia folly with some bloke riding around a stage on an electric broom (I kid you not), sweeping among robotised micro pallets apparently making parcel deliveries. Back in the truck hall, Daimler’s Fuso was somewhat more subtle with ‘Challenge the Changes’, a theme that could be…

“We have a highly competitive low tare weight solution on offer – one which ticks some key boxes for Australian operators.” FOR THOSE who may remember, Isuzu teased us at the Brisbane Truck Show with a nifty off-the-shelf freight body F-Series as well as some other new medium-duty model updates. Well, we got the first drive of the range of trucks in November and they’re a winning combination. Isuzu Trucks changed the game when they introduced the Ready To Work range back in 2003, offering Tradepacks as they were coined. Fast forward to 2019 and just about every manufacturer has an equivalent pre-built range, but Isuzu is still market leader in the light end of the game and, with more than 40 options now within its Ready to Work range,…

COMMERCIAL VEHICLE journalists from 24 European countries have voted for the Mercedes-Benz Actros to be crowned Truck of the Year of the fifth time. The first Actros was released back in 1997 and its subsequent vehicle generation began winning the award. With a total of nine victories, Mercedes-Benz is now the most successful brand in the fight for the Truck of the Year accolade. The International Truck of the Year jury votes are based on innovative technological developments. Professor Dr Uwe Baake, head of development at Mercedes-Benz Trucks, received the award during the press days of the Solutrans international commercial vehicle show for road and urban transport in Lyon. “The new Actros provides appropriate answers to topics like safety.” In line with the jury rules, the title is awarded every…