Truckies will soon have 14 more green reflector parking bays in southern NSW, thanks to tireless lobbying by concept creator and long-time driver, Rod Hannifey.
Transport for NSW (TfNSW) confirmed to Big Rigs that it’s in the process of finalising the exact spots but did release a list below of the highways the bays would be located.
• Burley Griffin Way
• Lachlan Valley Way
• Snowy Mountains Highway
• Princes Highway
• Olympic Highway
• Mid-Western Highway
• Newell Highway
• Hume Highway
• Monaro Highway.
It is expected the 14 new green reflector sites will be installed in early 2025, said TFNSW.
“Transport is also exploring future funding opportunities to identify and deliver new green reflector sites using industry feedback as part of a range of rest stop improvement initiatives underway across NSW,” a spokesperson said.
Hannifey told Big Rigs it was encouraging to see green reflector parking bay progress in NSW.
TfNSW also gave him some posters to put up at truck stops in his travels to help raise awareness of the concept and the new sites.
The full-time interstate driver for Rod Pilon Transport has been lobbying to have more official uptake of the cost-effective solution across all states and territories for many years. But it’s been uphill battle to get buy-in to the concept which involves marking roadside poles with green dots – three dots denotes a bay 500m away, two dots for a bay 250m away and one dot signals you’re at the safe spot.
“I’m pleased that Transport for NSW consulted and sent me the list and told me that they’re going on to do more,” Hannifey said.
“They do have funding available, but they’ve started with these 14 easier sites first that don’t really need any money spent on them.
“The next round might need a bit of tidying up to be compliant with the guidelines.”
Hannifey hopes the interest from NSW may spark other jurisdictions to follow their lead.
South Australia installed 24 sites from Port Augusta to the border about two years ago but it’s been slow going elsewhere, Hannifey said.
More often than not, it’s Hannifey himself who stops when and where he can to place reflective green dots on the road marker posts.
He estimates that he’s marked up 10 additional bays in SA, a dozen in WA, a similar number in Victoria, 15 in the Northern Territory, around 130 in Queensland and up to 250 now in his home state of NSW.
Ironically, Hannifey won a road safety award for the concept in Queensland in 2005 but hasn’t had any luck there since with officials, aside from a couple of regional champions of his cause over the years.
“Aside from NSW and SA, I can’t get them to recognise the value and the opportunity to save people’s lives by marking those bits of dirt,” said Hannifey.
Hannifey said he’s always getting positive feedback among drivers who are aware of the reflectors and what they mean.
“I just received a Facebook friend request from a driver who made specific comment that the green reflector bays have helped him in the past, whether it be for a kip over the wheel to get to the next formal bay, or simply for a leak.
“They still work in the daytime and for any reason when you simply need somewhere safe to pull up. I could have used one last night after hitting a roo, but had to use the best bit of shoulder I could find with decent sight distance, to check all was well.
“I was travelling from Bourke through Cobar towards Melbourne and there were a few more sites that could be marked. I will be chasing them again to suggest more sites for marking.”
Hannifey now wants to ask state and territory government three questions:
- Will they ratify the use of stockpile sites for truckies to use? He’s also written a letter that he’s sending off to each one. “We could do something overnight to solve part of the problem.”
- Will they start maintaining rest area signs? “If they’re going to put rest areas up they must maintain the signs, because at night it doesn’t exist when the sign gets knocked down.”
- Will they support a rollout of green reflectors as in interim measure to provide somewhere for people to stop when they’re tired?
Everywhere he goes he sees sites that could help save truckies’ lives.
It’s even more frustrating for Hannifey to see existing stopping bays or rest areas that are poorly signed, have signs in disrepair, or no signs at all.
More recently, Hannifey came across a rest area site in central west Queensland near Aramac on the Aramac Torrens Creek Rd, that he said is not signed at all to alert drivers of what lies ahead.
“If it’s not signed, then the thing doesn’t exist,” Hannifey said.
“I flew past it on the way out thinking, ‘oh shit, I could have stopped there’.
“What happens if some bloke goes past it then 15 minutes down the road he falls asleep when he could have stopped there?
Hannifey went on to share a post about he’d discovered on his TikTok channel Safetravelling.
“If someone can’t mark this properly, then we’re being let down,” Hannifey told his followers.
“We know fatigue is an issue, and there isn’t a billion dollars to rush out and build all the rest areas we need.
“But we’re being let down here, and the money’s going to waste and we’re being cheated out of something that could actually save somebody’s life.”
How are green reflectors sites marked?
Green reflectors are placed in a vertical row on the guide post, below the existing red reflector. These are installed in a 3 2 1 pattern before the entrance to the site:
• Three green reflectors on a guidepost 400 to 500 metres.
• Two green reflectors on a guidepost 200 to 250 metre.
• One green reflector on a guidepost at the entrance.
Thank you Rod, your reflectors have helped me on more than one occasion, if Governments were half serious about road safety for all drivers , the reflectors should have been implemented years ago, thanks to Rod. Cheers mate.