The Australian Livestock and Rural Transporters Association (ALRTA) has launched its ‘Braking Habits’ project, which encourages better safety through the use of smart braking systems and telematic data, to help reduce rollovers.
The project is in collaboration with transport insurance provider NTI and its National Truck Accident Research Centre (NTARC). It explores the benefits of using data provided from telematics and smart braking systems such as Electronic Stability Control (ESC).
“The livestock industry has been resistant to advanced braking technologies which is largely driven by concerns over its durability and service,” said NTI Transport Research Manager, Adam Gibson. “I’d suggest that the first adopters of most of these systems had a tough time in terms of reliability, durability and also the personnel skills to keep these systems working.
“But we’ve now got technologies that can powerfully talk directly to the key risk, rollover crashes.”
With smart braking now mandatory on new heavy vehicle combinations, ALRTA believes operators should be using it to its full potential.
ALRTA has been working with two major livestock transport companies that support this approach – Betts Rogers Livestock Transport and Frasers Livestock Transport – to highlight the real-world benefits of ESC and telematics data in improving safety and compliance.
Betts Transport is based at Walcha in NSW’s Northern Tablelands and has operated for over a century, offering transport services across general freight and livestock transport.
Working with its brake service partner, Air Brake Systems, Betts downloaded and analysed trailer data to establish a safety baseline. “The EBS data provided deep insights and allowed us to have meaningful conversations with our drivers, publicly celebrating the highest performers and privately coaching those with higher rates of stability control events,” said General Manager Chris Betts.
Likewise, Frasers Livestock Transport fitted an ESC system to one of its B-double combinations in Queensland. It travelled from Goondiwindi to Kingaroy with data and email alerts in real-time.
“This project will be a game changer for the industry,” said Frasers Livestock Transport Compliance and Central Queensland Manager, Athol Carter. “It’s a no-brainer – we’ve already got this equipment fitted, and if it reduces rollovers and serious incidents, why wouldn’t you want it working? There’s no point paying for something only to have it sitting there and you not even looking at it or knowing anything about it.”
ALRTA fully rolled out its ‘Braking Habits’ project last month at the 2025 National Rural Carriers Convention.
To support the industry in implementing smart braking technology, ALRTA has developed a range of resources that can be found here.