If you drive and operate on the east coast and haven’t read the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL) penalties review, you should.
It is a manifesto of the intent of complete control of an industry by the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR).
In fact, every driver and operator should take a week off and read the whole HVNL.
It is educational reading and shows that the intent is again to further discriminate an industry and breach the constitution and deny drivers rights under the rule of law
What it tells us is that our submissions to the National Transport Commission (NTC)/NHVR review in 2019 was a waste of time. The NTC’s undertaking to meet with industry stakeholders to discuss the review never happened. No doubt after pressure from the NHVR and police.
The 12 non-driving offence penalties will stay and increase, and in all 50 fines will increase to draconian amounts.
How many drivers have a lazy $13,300 or $26,610 lying about, or five-times those amounts for companies?
Drivers and operators will need to take very infringement to court, even if it will cost them a trip, or it will cost them dearly.
Solicitors advocate the law, but defendants will need to take their own fatigue experts to give evidence and their own industry experts to argue against enforcement opinions.
Being infringed for a fatigue provision is an offence against a provision of the act s223 and s228, BUT is not evidence of a driver driving while fatigued, unless you act or look or open your mouth to enforcement authorities when we are stopped.
Unlike in movies we don’t have Miranda rights in Australia and fatigue is an opinion by enforcement.
Personally after 65 years in the job, I would argue any driver using BFM or AFM could be fatigued at any time and the provisions should be rescinded.
Fifty or so years ago we would refuse to answer or be interrogated at roadside stops; drivers need to adopt this practice again.
Fatigue needs to be proven, and it has long been established, you can’t prove a negative and you can’t get crap from a rocking horse, but courts and enforcement will try and while you own property that they can sell, they win.
Every driver needs to seek advice from their solicitors and accountants on how to divest their assets they have worked hard for, and company directors need to adopt asset protection for themselves and for the trading company.
This also includes operation managers, or anyone in effective control of a company and not a director, because you will be left holding the bag.
However, the manifesto shows if you take this action, it will be an offence to take any action that could prevent or obstruct the NHVR from doing its job, even though every business and person has a right to mitigate their exposure to breaches of law.
For the ‘Super Truckers’ who say, “This won’t affect me, I drive by the book”, you can’t escape it.
The latest issue is EWDs dropping out of service, and if you know about it and you don’t revert to using the paper book record, you’re done for tampering, and/or any other genuine mistake, because the HVNL doesn’t recognise honest mistakes or errors as a defence.
With an estimated 1500 enforcement teams stopping and harassing drivers in four states on the east coast every day I don’t like your chances of not facing penalties.
It’s in the best interest of drivers and operators to carry and complete intervention records each time they are forced to stop for enforcement checks.
The new offence, s231(1) unfit to drive, which hasn’t been gazetted yet, opens a Pandora’s box of possibilities and depends how they intend to use it.
It could be against drivers who have obtained a licence and shouldn’t have one, like overseas drivers, when there is an accident after a ‘medical episode’, or as a back-up to ‘driving while fatigued, or for a person with a bad accident history. Expect the unexpected with the NHVR.
This industry has never denied we need to have laws, rules and enforcement but not harassment and the intimidation we are getting from roadside enforcement at this time.
With all this enforcement, truck road deaths climbing again to the prior 2009 levels ,the NHVR has not done the job to improve safety with all the draconian penalties.
Our history shows it will take time for the resentment for government and bad law to take effect before a plan of action is formed. Drivers have and will always have it in their power when the time comes to bring it to a head to remove their services.
The current Woolworths strike shows how long it will take for the shelves to empty.
How many old-timers, or even newbies will give the job away now, and further make vacancies unfillable, impacting hundreds of small businesses?
- Veteran truckie Jerry Brown-Sarre was inducted into the Shell Rimula Wall of Fame at ReUnion 2005
The law is the law is a joke. If you work in an office and make an entry in your computer or any form of workbook and make a mistake you might get a rap over the knuckles and nothing more. Make a mistake in your data entry of your work diary and you risk fines far in excess of car drivers. And totally disproportionate to the ‘offence’. I was done for not filling out my work diary while doing local work. I travelled just outside my 100k radius fron the depot. I had an old flip phone and no internet connection on it. I don’t do technology too good. I had recorded my day as if I was filling in my diary and when stopped by tmr in Brisbane I explained the problem I had and produced the paperwork with all the info so I could fill it in if necessary. I believed I was still inside the 100k radius. First offence in 49 years. That will be $691 .
This is Australia in a nutshell. It’s not just road transport. Everything is about compliance by penalisation, everything. I used to drive and have for nearly 25 years. I’m looking for a job but there is no way I would drive..
All truck drivers and companies need to stop work Australia wide till the ‘regulators ‘ think it’s a loose term get it. Government is there to serve and obey the public, us. They are the ones breaking natural law
I agree stop semis altogether for a day or two I used to drive stop All semis for a day or two through out Australia and see how the government reacts then to their laws and bylaws
When their voters start screaming they have no food or fuel or anything else
These idiots are out of controll..ahh freedom goodbye..
Lean how to chew humble pie , & receive pineapples where there not supposed 2 fit – without our truck drivers we would b up sh,,,,t Creek get to welcome a police state $$$$$ pay more 4 your registration, insurance, the list is endless , we are going down a road 2 destruction, your just a number out there to pay the taxes , I was once a proud Australian, our country is being flushed down the effluent drain , , the only person you r kidding is yourself!!!!
Never driving a truck on the road again. 40 years driving, no accidents. No damaged loads and only 3 blowouts. To dangerous on the roads due to uneducated drivers and harassment from every government agency that wants to make money off us, as well as ridiculous road conditions. Was good while it lasted.
Sal precious should hang his head in shame revenue is all it is getting bit to much for sale time to run
Gave it away after 28 years
To much goverance. You can loose every thing over 10 minutes or a spelling mistake and not enough money
Too all the road transport representatives, ie ATO ,Natroad , Nrfa, etc, etc, the people who proport to speak for the ” man behind the wheel ” how come it takes Bigrigs magazine to bring this public notice. And why has it got this far . The shelves and factories will be bare once us older drivers are gone .
I gave the game away 10 years ago because of this bullshit
What an absolute disgrace this industry has become , its being destroyed now by overseas drivers i dont care what anybody says . Then on top these heros the NHVA. They like cops dont have a clue for a start , and what they think they can take what we have busted our arses for for yrs . Ill say this they wont be taking anything i have worked for they can try , This country is a disgrace the Govt make me sick . Its time we band together ide love us all to park up . 2 days the joint would be on its knees , Without us the the country would be hungry homeless and naked.
That should look at them selves,
Since NSW opened up roadtrains past Warwick Gatton is a sight hazard, two states trying to use it ,up to 10 —15 trucks in that small pad
Not if but when someone is badly injured,
Trailers 5 deep on the outside
Talk about biting the hand that feeds you. As an ex truckie, there is absolutely no incentive to return.
All I can say is. What a pack of grubby dogs, they deserve everything they get as far as I’m concerned. I give up driving because of the arrogance in the road an some other contributing factors which seem to be getting a little better. But the arrogance of other drivers compared to when I went with dad is just bulls#@t. I’m not saying that 90 % of 9oh drivers were raised wrong it’s just that, “I’m a 9oh driver” crap they preach. Called up a steering wheel attendant in a new 900 to tell him blinker isn’t working, no answer. It’s just arrogance is all it is. Half of these blokes wouldn’t know 1 end of a gearstick from the other.
Well what can you say just retired after nearly 50 years in the trucking industry. Talk about the changes I’ve seen in this time . Not for the better
Would never return to it
I’m now 72 and retired; but, I began driving big-rigs when I was 16. Even though I have a disability, due to polio (I have a limp in my right leg), I managed to make a career out of driving for many, many years. However, I eventually gave it away (like Colin Hughes, in Comments, above) because of just this sort of bull-shit, that Jerry Brown-Sarre talks about. The penalties back-when were bad enough; but, no way near what they are now; and, for such stupid little things that don’t have anything to do with road safety. There are many further up the food-chain who are praising all the new NHVR developments; but, they can’t see the bull-shit for the fertiliser. You can call something a rose; but, if it’s brown and smelly, it’s still bull-shit. Wake-up Australia!