On cleaning out the shed, looking to get rid of excess paperwork and trash, I found copies of 1998 trucking magazines and I was looking at the stories and headlines before deciding to consign them to the recycling.
It was depressing to find that many of the headlines are the ones we still see today; fatigue and work hours, greenhouse gas emissions, calling for better roads and facilities, and examples of bad load restraint.
While so many things in the industry are much improved, how sad is it that we are still campaigning for better roads and better facilities for drivers, that almost every day we are still seeing loads badly restrained, and we are still often having the same fatigue and work diary debate. Obviously, we have come a long way on greenhouse gas submissions.
On the positive side after reading those magazines, our major highways between Melbourne and Sydney, and Sydney and Brisbane are almost (not fully) completely divided, we have the second crossing of the Toowoomba Range and many other improvements, but we still have a way to go on rural and regional roads and bridges.
Unfortunately, rest areas are still needed in many more places, and facilities need to be provided at all truck rest areas if we are to manage our fatigue properly.
We have the advantages BFM, and AFM have given us but without properly prepared rest area facilities that are not overtaken by non-heavy vehicle operators, we will always have issues.
I am not sure how many load restraint courses, posting of accidents and incidents regarding load restraint fails can be done before people start to realise enormous cost of loads shifting both in money and injury. The Load Restraint Guide is there to use.
The 2022 Driving the Difference scholarships are now open for application and offered to all members of Transport Women Australia Limited and employees of corporate members. They are offered to people who want to advance their career within the transport industry or to enter the industry.
All courses chosen by the applicants must be related to the transport industry or able to be applied within the transport industry. For application forms or for any queries please contact chair@transportwomen.com.au
The Sydney Learning Initiatives breakfast is on October 13 and is almost sold out. See trybooking.com/CCXNV for tickets, then the TWAL combined NHVR breakfast in Ballarat on October 12 is on sale so get your tickets asap – https://www.trybooking.com/CDAYL or check TWAL social media.
The TWAL AGM is being held via Zoom on November 15 and all current for members are invited to attend, details will be sent the email and posted to social media.
Also, check our social media for all the end of year events happening in Perth, Albury/Wodonga, Melbourne, Brisbane, Wollongong, Sydney, and Dubbo. We would love to see you there and maybe we will see you in more regional areas in 2023.
We will be presenting the scholarship winners with their certificates and cheques at the end of year functions and announcing the 2022 Trish Pickering Memorial Award Recipient, as always, the TWAL board is extremely excited about announcing the outstanding person we have chosen as a recipient for 2022.