The National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) is partnering with police across the country to conduct a national operation to combat fatigue-related heavy vehicle crashes this holiday season.
Operation Forager will commence on Monday, November 20, and will run for four weeks across NSW, Queensland, Victoria, SA, ACT and Tasmania.
The regulator said the joint operation is being run to raise greater awareness about the importance of managing fatigue when driving and providing information across the heavy vehicle industry in regard to on-road compliance and staying safe on the roads during the busy holiday period.
NHVR CEO Sal Petroccitto said heavy vehicle driver fatigue is one of the three biggest killers on our roads and the NHVR is reminding drivers to ensure they are well rested before setting out on their journey this holiday season.
“In the past year there have been 167 fatal crashes involving heavy vehicles in Australia and 190 lives lost,” Petroccitto said.
“While the holiday season is a fantastic time for families and holidaymakers, more road users mean it’s critical for heavy vehicle drivers to be extra cautious.
“We know we have fantastic drivers and operators doing the right thing, so we need them to keep up the good work by practicing safe behaviours, like focusing on rest, taking meal breaks and looking after themselves on the road.
“For anyone on the road feeling the five signs of fatigue – inattention, irregular body movements, erratic vehicle movements, dull sensory alertness, or poor concentration – that means it’s time to listen to your body and take a break.
“Drivers may be impaired even when complying with work and rest limits.
“So, even if you’re within your work and rest parameters, if you’re feeling the effects of fatigue this holiday season, it’s important to rest.”
NHVR chief operations officer Paul Salvati said NHVR on-road officers will be patrolling locations frequented by long haul intrastate and interstate heavy vehicles across the country.
“With the road toll in almost every state and territory still too high, the safety of all drivers on the road is our number one priority,” Salvati said.
“As part of our inform, educate and enforce approach we are working with industry to raise better awareness of the extreme risk that fatigue presents.
Salvati said that over the past year, the NHVR has undertaken more than 2100 hours of roadside education focused on fatigue and work diaries, with heavy vehicle drivers.
“Both mental and physical health issues are overrepresented in heavy vehicle drivers, so it’s also important to understand the medical conditions prevalent in the industry,” Salvati said.
“The NHVR has proactively developed a range of resources for drivers to assist with their fitness to drive and these can be accessed through the NHVR website.”
With the pressure on the freight industry increasing during the holiday season, the NHVR said drivers who feel pressured by their employer to drive while fatigued are encouraged to call the NHVR’s Heavy Vehicle Confidential Reporting Hotline on 1800 931 785.
The NHVR blitz isn’t to spread awareness to the drivers about fatigue at all, because not one of us drivers who might have made a honest mistake in our work diaries will be given a educational lesson about any mistake we will receive a hefty fine and a court date which is all apart of the NHVR revenue Xmas fund!
Maybe you should just get your act together and not break the law? No such thing as an “honest mistake” in a work diary.
Are you in the industry? Sounds very much like a comment for someone who has very little background or experience to comment , we’re not all cowboys , simply hard working people, like all people, open to making mistakes , back off you clown.
I agree there is no lesson just a fine what other job can you get fines for not putting a X on a page or misspelling
We all know it’s in the name of revenue not safety , if they were serious about safety then how are drivers getting there licence in the first place if they can’t reverse isn’t that part of getting your licence in the test also maybe the nhvr people should be fined for things like the wrong date time or place on our fine because it’s all about revenue from us easy pickings
nothing about safety at all in the 40 years of driving interstate from the nhvr only revenue and always will be
Therein lies the problem! Ignorance and uneducated comments. Self governance will never work. You only need to look to Europe.
Its interesting to note that no mention is made of the 167 accidents as to how many are caused by car driver error ?
I think your right truck drivers seem to do the right thing
Keeping to the left on motorways which other vehicles don’t do which actually creates problems
Also to many migrants bringing there bad driving habits with them
from what I’ve seen
Give these truck drivers a fair go
maybe 3 warnings if things aren’t right then fine them if they can’t pick their game up
What a load of crap. Failed to mention most holiday accidents are caused by motorists. How about this, start making motorists fill out a logbook for long haul and interstate trips, fine the arse out of them, and EDUCATE them on fatigue and over reaching their physical demands.
No, what, you think they would get upset? Really? Can’t see why? They’re on holidays. They can afford it. We can’t. Because we’re still at work!!
Still the only workplace I know where you can’t control the environment around you and get fined for working hard and making an honest mistake. 40 plus yrs of this crap and nothing changes. You want to know why we can’t stop when we want to? Because a government issued and designed piece of paper, yes logbooks, says if we stop when we want, because then we can’t get the job done when we have to. It’s that simple.
If anyone believes that the government won’t find ways to go back in history and prosecute truck drivers, think again. Less than a month ago, a highway patrol officer pulled over a truck, checked out the vehicle and then took his log book back to his car. 15 minutes later he comes back, hands the driver the log book and compliments him on how neat and tidy he keeps the book plus then says also here is a $500 fine.
He went back through the previous 80 pages and found 1 mistake of driving 15 minutes over. If that copper could expect 100% perfection over 80 days and go back that far to find an infringement, then the crap the NHVR spins of education and learning is just BS.
Every page in that diary was marked by a red tick. How do you think the copper would stand up if we were to go back 80 days and look at his record. No wonder we loose good drivers. Perhaps the NHVR needs to practice educating the highway patrol first. Pelicans
What a total load of government crap. Truck drivers are the most responsible road users. Their livelihood depends on their care and responsibility. The government needs to look at the real cause of vehicle road deaths. Here are some causes – P plate drivers who think they are bullet proof who drive too fast and do stuoid things. People in cars with windows up, air-conditioning on and loud music are completely disconnected from the outside world resulting in. driving without due care and attention. Elderly people who drive at ridiculous slow speed – too many K’s under is a killer because they cause following drivers to become frustrated and take risks to get past the slow driver. And then one of the biggest causes of vehicle crashes is the condition of the roads. Road safety – finally iit is not up to us, it is up to to owner of the roads. The government is ripping billions of from citizens for road use with vehicle registration, fuel tax and unfair speeding fines. Stop persecution truck drivers. They are the back bone of our essential supply chain.
Come to western Australia. No fatigue management over here. It plays havoc with big business getting there freight ASAP. Particular ly the mining companies. The rule is don’t drive tired , but make sure you are on site at 6am. Which could be 16 hours straight. Road safety what a joke.
If they were serious about fatigue management the government should revoke bfm and afm. And go back to a standard 12 hour book.
But the corruption of the transport industry greasing the corrupt government to have the bills passed in the first place is the highest level of corporate and government greed.
Get holiday small vehicle drivers to have compliant tow vehicles and compliant weights and driving skills we might be on a far more even playing field
THE log book is THE problem, as us old blokes have always said. It makes u stop at 12 hrs, when you’re not tired. Lay in a bed, unable to sleep, now it’s time to go , the freight recipient requires it, and soon you are tired, but you have to work 12 hrs now to get there, and can’t pull up, you’d lose your job. Throw the stupid things away, and watch the road toll plummet