A second-generation truckie on the road for the past 35 years, 54-year-old Michael Hogg works for Morgan Transport Group, mainly pulling B-doubles from behind the wheel of a DAF.
He does the approximately 970km run from Brisbane to Mackay, travelling along the Bruce Highway.
Hogg says the condition of the road is getting worse and worse and is calling on governments to do something about it.
“I think what the government needs to do is get their heads together, start from the Gympie Bypass and then keep moving north, making it a dual carriageway,” he said.
“It might take another 30 years to complete, but at least then people can see something is being done.”
In Hogg’s view, the worst stretches of the Bruce Highway that he travels are from Gin Gin to Miriam Vale, and from Marlborough to Mackay. “The road is pretty average and there are a lot of incidents. I wouldn’t call it corrugated but the road is wavy enough that you get thrown out of your seat!
“If I go into a workplace, there are things in place to protect me – but for truck drivers, look at the condition of the Bruce Highway. It’s been neglected and the government expects us to travel on it.
“Roads are being built to a budget and not a standard and projects need to be done more quickly.
“If the government says we’re going to put $100 billion into the Bruce, we all say, okay but what’s the catch. People have become cynical.”
Compounding the issue, he says, is that heavier vehicles are being put on a highway that’s already not up to standard.
“I’m all for productivity and more freight with less vehicles, but at the end of the day, the roads need to be fixed,” Hogg said.
“The road is already crappy and then these big companies are paying a permit to allow larger vehicles on the road, when it’s already struggling to cope with B-doubles.”
And then add to that driver education. “People do need to learn to drive properly on these roads,” said Hogg. “We need to also educate people to have more respect on the highway – and patience.
“The Bruce Highway has been nicknamed the Death Highway and if something isn’t done, more people are going to die.
“I have so much emotion for that truck driver who didn’t come home after that recent incident. His family has been torn apart for the rest of their lives.
“We have partners at home worrying. The government makes these promises for the next 30 years, they keep blaming each other and at end of the day nothing gets done.”
Totally agree re: built to a budget. The road works are contracted to whatever company submits the cheapest quote, then the company does the work in the cheapest way, it falls apart again within a month, and the likes of schram group (scam group) are costing big dollars yet aren’t held accountable for the poor work they’ve done. Also there needs to be some kind of limit on roadworks delays, something like no more than one traffic control ‘stop and go’ per 2 hours of travel at any time, like no more of the 3 or more possible 15 minute delays between say Miriam and 2Gins like there has been so many times over the past 5 years. To add 45 minutes to a 1 hour section is ridiculous and dangerous. It makes impatient idiots do stupid things on the roads
People need to wake up and realise the government doesn’t care how many people die on our roads. Rego goes up fuel goes up the government gets a huge slice of fuel prices but it is all wasted on foreign aid and past and present politicians wages. Then we have nhvr out here trying to do everyone for unroadworthy vehicles or unsafe vehicles. Because of the roads we are getting huge repair costs
I’m a police officer in Highway patrol and I 100% agree.