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$3.9 million to fund 16 road safety projects

An initiative by St John Ambulance to equip 50 trucks with new defibrillators, and train truck drivers to provide first aid is among 16 projects to share in $3.9 million under Round 9 of the Heavy Vehicle Safety Initiative (HVSI).

The Australian Government and National Heavy Vehicle Regulator’s (NHVR) HVSI program sees funding awarded to successful nominations for various road safety projects.

Since the program began in 2016, $41 million has been spent across 169 HVSI projects.

Assistant Minister for Regional Development, Anthony Chisholm commented: “The trucking industry is the backbone of our nation’s economy and that’s why our government is continuing to invest in road safety programs that will keep truckies safe and keep Australia’s economy moving.

“These 16 successful projects provide solutions to challenges that we’re currently seeing throughout the industry, such as removing barriers for young people entering the sector, increasing awareness of how to drive safely around heavy vehicles and boosting safety within the industry itself.”

NHVR CEO Sal Petroccitto OAM added, “The NHVR’s HVSI program continues to support safety initiatives that benefit the heavy vehicle industry and the wider community.

“Through this game-changing program, we have seen projects across the country deliver lasting and transformative results.

“There is still plenty of work to do to reduce road trauma in Australia, which is why I am looking forward to seeing these 16 new initiatives get underway, and the positive impact they are sure to have on heavy vehicle safety right across the country.”

The projects receiving funding under round 9 of the HVSI initiative are:

  • St John Ambulance’s Defibs in Trucks Program which will equip 50 heavy vehicles with new, high quality Automated External Defibrillators (AED’s) and provide first aid training to drivers to reduce deaths in regional, rural, and remote communities.
  • Deakin University’s Truckwise Roadshow which aims to increase awareness of safety practises when working with heavy vehicles through the use of virtual reality.
  • GM Cartage and Contracting’s Accelerating Ambitions Program which aims to increase awareness among young drivers of career opportunities within the trucking industry and provide innovative solutions to increase diversity in the industry.
  • ARTSA-i’s Education & Awareness Course for AVEs and heavy vehicle modifiers, which aims to increase the quality of heavy vehicle modification by providing reliable and extensive guidance information to heavy vehicle modifiers.
  • ARTSA-i’s Heavy Vehicle Coupling Testing which aims to understand the complex nature of fatigue forces that heavy vehicle couplings are subject to within heavy combination road trains.
  • Australian Institute of Health & Safety project to enhance professional knowledge and competency of policymakers, educators, transport operators and safety professionals and facilitate the adoption of improved safety standards and practices across industry to increase heavy vehicle-specific safety knowledge among heavy vehicle operators and related personnel.
  • Clare & Gilbert Valleys Council Road Network Risk Assessment and Road Gazetting project that aims to provide road users with a safer road environment, provide council with the tools to assess NHVR applications for multiple classes of heavy vehicles and gazette frequently used.
  • MOTUM World Heavy Vehicle Simulated Training Program which proposes to expand on MOTUM’s existing driver education software and hardware technologies, delivering simulation-based training for specific deployment into the heavy vehicle training sector.
  • National Bulk Tanker Association Inc. for a project that aims to demonstrate the benefits of monitoring tyre pressure and temperature through sector specific case studies.
  • National Road Safety Partnership Program’s translation of Heavy Vehicle Toolbox talks.
  • National Transport Research Organisation’s development of the Electric Truck Fire Safety Information Toolkit.
  • NatRoad for a project that will provide first aid training to heavy vehicle drivers in their first language to improve health outcomes and information retention.
  • Opposite for its project to develop a user-centred safety management system for smaller fleet operators tools and resources to improve safety compliance.
  • Primary Producers SA for its heavy vehicle defensive driving skills project for primary producers.
  • Queensland Transport and Logistics for a project to provide a set of desired safety and sustainability outcomes to move OSOM vehicles by police or accredited escorts.
  • Road Accident Action Group for its Wide Load Awareness Campaign.

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