Twenty-six projects aimed at saving lives and reducing road trauma will share in $5.9 million under Round 5 of the Australian Government’s Heavy Vehicle Safety Initiative (HVSI).
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development Michael McCormack said innovative projects delivering safety benefits to the heavy vehicle industry and other road users would be funded.
“Projects being funded this round target key areas such as developing or testing innovative new technologies, mental health support for drivers, educational campaigns and much-needed training and development,” the Deputy Prime Minister said.
“This includes funding for the recently launched Healthy Heads in Trucks and Sheds foundation to ramp up their work to improve the mental health of people in the heavy vehicle sector nationwide, from drivers right through to warehouse and distribution centre staff.
“Some of the technology-focused projects include testing next-generation base tyres and trialling new mobile cameras under the National Safety Camera Network initiative to allow real-time monitoring for critical safety concerns like load limit compliance and driver fatigue.
“Funding will also go to the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) and Transafe WA to deliver targeted educational campaigns, which keep safety front of mind for road users while addressing key issues like how to share the road safely with heavy vehicles.
“The Australian Government takes road safety seriously, because no family should have to endure the utter devastation road crashes cause.
“That is why it is absolutely vital we continue to invest in critical initiatives that improve road safety to save lives and reduce road trauma, including across our heavy vehicle sector.”
Assistant Minister for Road Safety and Freight Transport Scott Buchholz said this latest round of funding built on the $17.3 million already provided for 62 grants under the HVSI program over the past four years.
“We’ve seen some great projects across the country deliver transformative results thanks to HVSI funding and I am proud to see this game-changing program continue,” Mr Buchholz said.
“Finding innovative ways to make safety front of mind for road users is key to supporting the Safe System principles – a holistic approach to road safety that underpins the National Road Safety Strategy agreed by all governments.
“HVSI projects also highlight how each and every one of us has a vital role to play in promoting road safety, particularly when it comes to our heavy vehicles, with many of the initiatives led by and created for industry groups and communities.
“This is all part of the Australian Government’s continuing commitment to improve road safety to move towards zero fatalities and serious injuries on our roads.”
NHVR CEO Sal Petroccitto said HVSI provided an opportunity for the Regulator, who administers the program, to work with other safety-focused groups towards a common and critical goal.
“The HVSI program encourages community, industry and government groups right across the country to collaborate to create workable solutions to make our roads safer,” Mr Petroccitto said.
“It’s an important demonstration of how working together and harnessing a breadth of knowledge and industry experience can achieve real and lasting results for heavy vehicle safety.
“While the HVSI has already delivered some great outcomes, we still have critical work to do to make our roads even safer, which is why I look forward to getting this next round of projects underway to keep driving the future of heavy vehicle safety right across the country.”
A full list of the projects is below.
| ORGANISATION | PROJECT NAME | PROJECT DESCRIPTION |
|---|---|---|
| Australian Fertiliser Services Association | CoR and SMS Training to Industry Stakeholders | Conduct CoR and SMS training to enhance stakeholder understanding and compliance under Heavy Vehicle National Law. |
| Australian Livestock and Rural Transporters Association | Managing Effluent in the Livestock Supply Chain – an Industry Code of Practice Awareness Campaign | Develop and deliver an awareness campaign to enable stakeholders to better understand how to manage effluent for the Livestock Supply Chain Industry Code of Practice. |
| Australian Road Research Board | Testing of Electronic Stability Technologies on Long Combination Vehicles | Test electronic stability technologies on long-combination heavy vehicles to enable change to scheme rules. |
| Bus and Coach Association (NSW) | Bus and Coach Breakdown Advisory | Develop guidance materials on how to address bus breakdowns to enhance the safety of bus and coach passengers, drivers and other road users. |
| Grain Trade Australia | Practical Steps to CoR Compliance for Australian Grain Industry Participants | Develop a program to educate the grain industry’s small-to-medium enterprise sector about CoR obligations under Heavy Vehicle National Law. |
| Healthy Heads in Trucks and Sheds Foundation | Healthy Heads in Trucks and Sheds | Improve the mental health of heavy vehicle drivers, warehouse and distribution centre staff nationally. |
| Hire and Rental Industry Association (HIRA) | HRIA Face to Face CoR and Load Restraint Training | Deliver CoR awareness and load restraint training to hire and rental industry stakeholders in metropolitan and regional areas. |
| Lindsay Australia | Work-related Musculoskeletal Disorder (MSD) Prevention Program | Develop a risk assessment and prevention toolkit to mitigate and reduce MSD injuries to heavy vehicle road transport drivers. |
| Livestock, Bulk and Rural Carriers | CoR and SMS Training to Industry Stakeholders | Educate remote livestock transport industry stakeholders about Chain of Responsibility (CoR) and Safety Management Systems (SMS). |
| NHVR | National Camera Safety Network | Test new Mobile Camera Technologies to facilitate the monitoring and interception of high risk operators, vehicles and journeys. |
| NHVR | Sharing the Road with Heavy Vehicles | Sharing the Road with Heavy Vehicles creates a national educational and awareness campaign that targets learner drivers, P-platers and other young drivers. |
| NTI Ltd | Driving a National Culture of Strategy | Develop content and tools which will assist transport operators effect change and build a robust safety culture. |
| Parkes, Forbes and Lachlan Shire Councils | Load Restraint Public Education Campaign | Develop and implement a load restraint public education campaign targeting local transport companies and farmers. |
| Queensland Trucking Association | Driving Heart Health | Raise awareness on heavy vehicle driver health and wellbeing and conduct physical health assessments to help improve heavy vehicle driver health and enhance road safety. |
| Safe Freight Networks Australia | Gippsland and Green Triangle Safe Freight Networks | Expand on the existing Safe Freight Networks program, a local collective approach to road safety in the Gippsland and Green Triangle regions. |
| Safe System Solutions Pty Ltd | Road Design for Heavy Vehicles – Technical Training | Develop and deliver a pilot training program to provide road designers, engineers and road safety experts with practical heavy vehicle experience. |
| South Australian Road Transport | Heavy Vehicle Simulator | Purchase an HVSim to provide training to heavy vehicle drivers travelling on high risk routes in South Australia and assist the design of roads. |
| South Australian Wine Industry Association | To Develop a Wine Industry Code of Practice and Promote it via a National Education Program | Develop a Registered Industry Code of Practice for the Australian wine industry and deliver training on the code to stakeholders across the country. |
| Tasmanian Farmers and Graziers Association | Implementing Resources, Training and Education for the Tasmanian Agricultural and Horticultural Industry Code of Practice | Develop guidance materials for the proposed Tasmanian Agricultural and Horticultural Industry Code of Practice and deliver a series of education workshops to introduce the Code and guidance materials. |
| Transafe WA | A Safety Truck Resource Servicing WA and NT | Convert a heavy vehicle into a mobile classroom to educate people across WA and NT about the importance of heavy vehicles and how to safely share the road with them. |
| Transit Systems West Services Pty Ltd | Heavy Vehicle Bus Driver Resilience Program | Improve bus driver resilience and management capability to enhance wellbeing and community safety. |
| Transport Workers Union Queensland | Transport Industry Mental Health Initiative | Expand the Transport Industry Mental Health Initiative pilot project to provide mental health support to truck and bus drivers. |
| Truck Industry Council | Improving Safety of On-Road Heavy Vehicles by Increasing Axle Loadings When Fitted with Next Generation Wide Load Base Tyres | Test three different tyre types under the same loading conditions to demonstrate pavement wear outcomes. |
| Victorian Transport Association | Integrating Mental Health Makes Good Business Sense | Deliver long-term change in the transport and logistics industry by increasing awareness of mental health issues and providing prevention strategies. |
| Wodonga Institute of TAFE | Multi-media Advanced Emergency Braking (AEB) Project | Educate transport operators and drivers about the benefits of voluntary early adoption and limitations of Electronic Stability Control and Advanced Emergency Braking safety technologies. |
| Women in Trucking Australia Ltd | Welcome to OUR World Road Safety Campaign | Develop and deliver a national road safety campaign focussing on a female heavy vehicle driver’s perspective from behind the wheel. |
For more information on the Australian Government’s Heavy Vehicle Safety Initiative program, visit https://www.nhvr.gov.au/about-us/heavy-vehicle-safety-initiative.