Transport ministers must reduce heavy vehicle fines that don’t improve safety outcomes, or admit that six years of reviewing the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL) have been a failure, said the National Road Transport Association (NatRoad).
NatRoad was speaking in response to its submission on the draft new NVNL and the review of HVNL penalties, one of only 10 filed before the November 21 deadline.
“After six years of talking, the proposed changes to the HVNL are incremental at best,” said Warren Clark, NatRoad CEO.
“Ministers are yet to decide if they will reduce unfair penalties and the test of six years of talking will be whether noticeable, on the ground, improvements for industry are delivered.”
NatRoad said more penalties should be reduced and the proposed increases should be rejected.
“The proposed changes to penalties would see 21 reductions, but another 50 increases to penalties. In some cases, it is proposed fines are increased by 100 per cent, taking maximum penalties to almost $30,000,” Clark said.
“The review is a missed opportunity to eliminate minor fines, which are not improving safety, or delivering meaningful reductions to these penalties to make the roads fairer for our drivers.
“We know that Australia has a driver shortage of over 26,000 positions and that punitive fines are only making this more difficult, with no measurable safety outcome.
“NatRoad has proposed a range of bigger cuts to penalties for minor offences, governments should show leadership and reduce unfair fines as a priority.”
The NatRoad submission also calls for governments not to go backwards by reducing flexibility for fatigue management.
“Buried in the detail of the draft new law and regulations are changes that would wind back fatigue flexibility for some operators currently on Advanced Fatigue Management,” Clark said.
“It is completely unacceptable that a reform intended to move us into the 21st century now threatens to take us backwards and undermine improving safety outcomes.”
Future legislative and non-legislative reform on improving heavy vehicle access also remains critical.
“NatRoad has set a clear goal that 90 percent of access permits need to be eliminated by 2028,” Clark said.
“Governments must prioritise proposed changes to improve general access as well as ensuring automated access is delivered on time and in full.
“If Australia does not fix access by 2028 then the HVNL review will have been a decade long road to nowhere.”
Following public consultation on the draft law amd regulations, the National Transport Commission will present the law reform package to ministers in early 2025.
If approved by ministers, the amended law will move through to Queensland Parliament to consider and enact, as the host jurisdiction for the law.
No wonder young people don’t want to drive trucks. Driving all night getting fines and feeling tired.
Its really sad to see that no achievable outcomes look like being attained at this stage. As a truckies wife I feel the dread every day; but my husband is a good driver and works for a supportive company. What scares me the most is everyone else on the road whose behaviour he has to manage and if/when he has an accident he’s the one (as the heavy vehicle operator) put under the microscope and publicly bullied by the media and most likely fined astronomically for some small infringement from an accident that he wasn’t the cause of to begin with!!
This is the problem pencil pushers making laws for an industry that they have never been involved in why would anyone want to drive a truck $30k fine what a fucking joke nearly half a years wages no other job would you get a fine like that not even a doctor for mal practice and even if it is they have insurance for that
caravanners should be made to have a hard wired or hand held UHF radio installed while towing their vans fair enough every one enjoys a holiday but when you are behind 2 or 3 cruising at 75k or 80 k in an 110 speed limited hi way and your on a scheduled time frame its very frustrating and causes unsafe practices to which I have witnessed being a long haul operator myself let me know what you think
Back in the day before all new regulations as a truck driver working for a company.It didnt take long to know what the company was all about and how roughness,ruffles,or simply what the company is like and stands for he’ll of a lot worse for owner drivers that rely on money to pay the debt off.started of no hassles deliverys around town .then they wanted me to do trios away that’s okay done a few trips 100 kls for depth then gorpt further and further and so on on a few trips I was pulled into the office please explain why your trips are taking so long your not getting to your drop off points or your pick up points on time costing valuable money not good enough so I explained AND was rigging my log book back in those days you had truck stops to call in so you showed the log book they checked it out noworrys mate all good way you go .and Iam thinking there either dumb as dog shit or they know I have rig the log book to make it all good and don’t care anyway it was helping me.It came to the stage where I was getting no sleep driven 3 days to make the drops off ypand pick up times.I was speeding as much as possible where I could to make up time and my alarm clock was my log book 1hour sleep some times 2or 3 hours at tops then the speed kilometre mechanism on truck and trailer wheels .so that stuffed you over if they were to check it. Long story short who is pushing your department to change regulations big corporations sound like it to me it’s departments like yours that kill people on the road.its you people have know idea about truck driving and what the highway and hussars are like out there you have no idea unless you have been driven long distances in a truck and for arse hole company’s that push,push.and keep pushing you till eventually a accident happens and people get killed that goes for owner truck drivers .how about working for truck companies long distances and see first hand the bullshit your under not a week 2 years I done done 4years how the he’ll I lasted that long got me stuffed.its a cut throat game out there and people like you don’t give a stuff the laws are there to try and prevent people from getting killed not listening to big companies, or corporations telling you people there needs to be a change.get off your chair and get a job trucking and learn what the real world is like making your pick ups and drop off’s on time.bugger all sleep dropping pills to keep bosses happy. Your best to make governments wake up to themselves and put duel highways in that common sense not your personal .
The whole perception of truck driving is no longer the same with the introduction of overseas drivers. I have been driving trucks for 41 years. I see the inexperience first hand and know one is addressing the problem. It is a profession to me and but these overseas drivers take it to its lowest level. I passed a driver one night watching a movie on his phone which was sitting on the dash and guess what, when I phoned the authorities they didn’t take my call seriously and that’s not right.
I had my truck not car licence suspended for 90 days when i was out off the country i dont know why i got log book infringements only in the previous 2 years ????