Wodonga TAFE, Driver Education Centre of Australia (DECA), Trucking Industry Council and the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) have teamed up to create a detailed resource and multimedia suite to help educate transport managers and operators of the benefits of early adoption of Advanced Emergency Braking (AEB) and stability control, as well as their limitations.
Road crash trauma involving heavy vehicles has been on the rise in Australia since 2020. According to BITRE’s Dashboard for Road Trauma Involving Heavy Vehicles, there were 201 road deaths involving heavy vehicles in the year to June 2022 which is 20.4 per cent or 34 deaths more than 2020. Over the same period, fatal crashes involving heavy vehicles increased by 20.8 per cent or 31 deaths more in comparison to 2020. The impact of road crashes on individuals, as well as society, is significant, estimated to cost the Australian economy around $35 billion per annum.
Core modules in the resource cover Antilock Braking Systems (ABS), stability control and finally AEB, with each section covering the Australian Design Rules (ADRs) requirements, system design/ function and background issues/information.
Jason Atteridge, education leader at Wodonga TAFE / DECA said, “The resources are tailored with both new and advanced operators in mind. Not wanting to leave a stone unturned, with Trucking Industry Council, the resource provides in-depth detail as to how these heavy vehicle safety systems work, as well as their limitations.
“The videos and multimedia give people a visual explanation of the vehicles and a better understanding of the systems as technology shifts quickly within the industry, and will continue to do so in the future.”
You can learn more about this project at wodongatafe.edu.au/HVSS.