Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 283 i Owner Driver

THE NATIONAL trucking regulator says its current roadworthiness survey could find that the Australian truck fleet is in better shape than many people think. “It may be revealed that it is very safe,” National Heavy Vehicle Regulator director of safety Daniel Elkins says. “I’m pretty confident it’s going to reveal that the fleet is quite good despite its age.” Elkins also floats the possibility that trucks may not be grounded so easily in the future, and he wants the criteria for major and minor defects to be made public. His comments come as the NHVR’s National Roadworthiness Baseline Survey (NRBS) is rolling out. About 9000 heavy vehicles will be randomly inspected during August and September for the first national survey to check the mechanical state of the nation’s fleet. Trucks…

THE AUSTRALIAN Trucking Association (ATA) is inviting nominations for this year’s Craig Roseneder Award, open to any individual working full-time as a workshop manager or mechanic for an Australian trucking company, supplier or commercial workshop. The award recognises technical and maintenance excellence in the trucking industry’s workshops. “Fleet maintenance is about more than keeping the engine running,” ATA CEO Christopher Melham says. “For our Craig Roseneder Award nominees, it’s a passion and a challenge to make sure their fleet is as safe and efficient as possible. “Not only do these people keep their vehicles in top shape, they’re often known to improve on them with safety innovations they’ve conceived and developed in their own time. “Though highly regarded, these people are often quiet achievers in the workplace.” The winner will…

THE NATIONAl Truck Accident Research Centre (NTARC) has released findings of the latest study into heavy vehicle crash incidents in Australia. The analysis continues an ongoing series of investigative research by insurer NTI’s research arm. NTARC has analysed most heavy motor losses, managed by the insurer, more than $5000 between 2011 and 2015. National director of research Owen Driscoll notes that this effort brings together the largest ever study into heavy vehicle incidents across Australia. “This analysis reviewed 14,000 incidents where NTI contributed close to $500 million over a five-year period,” Driscoll says. “Of course it will be the precursor to the early-2017 release of the seventh in the series of ‘Major Truck Crash Incidents’ over $50,000, which NTARC publishes biennially. “Whilst we have not reviewed those incidents ‘off the…

THIS CRAZY LIFE The Wolfe Brothers ABC/Universal www.abcmusic.com.au Tasmania’s The Wolfe Brothers have come a long way since being runners-up in the 2012 season of Australia’s Got Talent. This Crazy Life is their third album, The Wolfe Brothers spending three months in Nashville for the recording sessions. The result is 13 tracks of classy country rock. The livewire title track is also the album’s first single, but the boys are equally adept at mid-paced romantic rock songs such as ‘When I Was The One’. US country superstar Brad Paisley dropped by the studio, adding a guitar solo to ‘Throw ’Em Back’, and lead singer Nick Wolfe is joined by the multi-voiced “gang” on ‘Gettin’ Undone’. You can catch The Wolfe Brothers at Lights On The Hill in early October. BLACK…

FOLLOWING THE announcement of their national expansion in May, Bruce Rock Engineering (BRE) general manager Brenton Deane and sales manager Jason Maxworthy have been appointed to the BRE team to lead business growth from their New South Wales based office. Deane says following BRE’s partnership to become the national distributor for North American OEM Wabash National, the company now has the capacity to deliver end-to-end road transport services to the east coast. Deane has over 22 years senior executive experience in bus, coach and road transport businesses, and recently oversaw a fleet of 650 prime movers and trailers and two major fleet workshops. Maxworthy says BRE’s growth strategies see the company strengthened by external partnerships and new facilities, while maintaining a commitment to family values of service and quality. “At…

PACCAR RING-IN The Paccar and Dealer Industry Fund made a generous $120,000 donation to the Australian Trucking Association (ATA) at its big shindig on the Gold Coast in June, so it was fitting that a couple of beautiful Paccar products were on display for delegates to gaze at and admire. Check out this shiny new K200 Kenworth and a glistening new XF105 DAF — but hang on, what’s that older blue truck on the end? It’s the Willaton Transport DAF that ATA technical stalwart Wally Cox pilots around Australia from his base at Morwell in Victoria, and that’s real dirt from the trip Wally had just been on, to Wiluna in the Western Australian outback. His fluoro vest had real dirt on it too, before Wally had a tub and…

AROUND 400 ex-staff of Shepparton’s Phillips Transport are expected to attend a reunion for the popular former company on October 29. Organised by former Phillips driver Len ‘Dodger’ Welsh, the reunion will take place at the Peppermill Inn in the Shepparton suburb of Kialla. The origins of Phillips Transport go back to late 1935 at Bunbartha, just north of Shepparton, where Edward ‘Ted’ Phillips began hauling fresh produce with one truck. In 1956, Ted’s first son Ian started working in the business. His second son Gary joined in 1973. The business expanded interstate with depots in Sydney and Brisbane, as well as Melbourne. Phillips Transport went on to own more than 100 Kenworth trucks and 165 trailers and employing around 200 people. Dodger began driving for Phillips in the 1960s,…

AN AUSTRALIAN distributor of air springs for truck and bus suspensions says the counterfeit parts problem plaguing car makers is also compromising the safety of vehicles in Australia’s work vehicle and heavy transport sector. Air Springs Supply – distributor of Firestone Industrial air springs – says it is vigorously supporting new warnings from the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries about the escalation of non-genuine parts coming into this country, including safety-critical components such as brake pads and airbags. Air Springs Supply sales manager Russell Chown says the problem spotlighted by the Federal Chamber could be even more severe in its consequences in the work vehicle and trucking sector. The risks could be increased if vehicles up to the size of road trains weighing more than 100 tonnes use non-genuine parts…

ENGINE MANUFACTURER Cummins has launched two new models for the US market: the heavy-duty X15 and X12 engines. Both the X15, which is effectively a rebranded and upgraded version of the current 15-litre ISXe5 engine used in Australia, and the X12, which is the new name for the ISG12 12-litre engine that has been trialled in Australia for some time, are currently scheduled to hit the US market in 2017 and 2018 respectively. Cummins says the next-generation X15 engine boasts emissions, fuel efficiency and consumption, service interval and performance gains, and will ship in two configurations — the X15 Performance Series and the X15 Efficiency Series. The Performance Series, rated at 485hp to 605hp, is aimed at heavy-haul, vocational, and emergency vehicles. Cummins says it provides faster pedal response thanks…

JUST PAST the half-way mark of 2016 and heavy truck sales continue to show no signs of reversing the steady downward trend. Although Kenworth remains top of the heavies list and slightly increasing its market percentage, the fact that its sales have slightly decreased is a measure of the stagnant nature of heavy truck sales in Australia. As at the end of July, the Kenworth brand boasted 20.7 per cent of the market share. Couple that with a slight increase in DAF sales, and Paccar’s total truck market percentage is up to 23.7 per cent. Second placegetter Volvo, however, defied the trend, enjoying a notable increase in heavy sales, with its market percentage moving up to 16.2. What’s interesting is that, coupling those figures with Volvo Group Australia’s (VGA) other…

THE TOLL GROUP has completed its acquisition of Sadleirs Group’s Sadleirs-Nexus transport division. While Toll entered a binding agreement to purchase Sadleirs-Nexus on June 3, it says it had a number of “customary conditions and regulatory approvals” that needed to be finalised, which have now been completed. Based in the north west of Western Australia, the transport company will now form part of the Toll Express business with its name progressively retired. Describing the news as a win for the regional business and its customers, Toll Express general manager Larry O’Regan says the deal ensures sustainable and competitive transport and freight services for the region. “We are excited that the Sadliers-Nexus team is joining our talented group of professionals,” O’Regan says. “We are ready to grow this business and support…

THE TRANSPORT, postal and warehousing industries are among Australia’s most dangerous, according to new data, but they’re not the worst. The team at Finder.com.au has meshed Safe Work Australia’s Australian Workers’ Compensation statistics with the Work-Related Traumatic Injury Fatalities report stats to create a ‘risk score’ for each industry, by examining the number of serious injury claims and the number of fatalities as a percentage of the total working population. The transport, postal and warehousing sector came in second on the danger list. This sector’s position is notable as it contains just 9.44 per cent of the employees covered by the data, yet accounts for 24 per cent of workplace fatalities. The data also showed that within the industry, two-thirds of the fatalities involved the use of a vehicle. Sitting…

THE NEW SOUTH Wales police has arrested a man and issued three infringement notices and five defect notices as part of a heavy vehicle compliance operation in July. Named ‘Operation Juris’, the raid saw members of the Heavy Vehicle Unit and officers from the Traffic & Highway Patrol Command Southern Region inspect 10 vehicles and nine trailers and conduct drug and alcohol testing at a South Nowra location. From 12 breath and drug tests, the compliance officers noted one positive drug test, which saw a 44-year-old man receive a 24-hour driving ban pending further notice. Of the three infringement notices issued, two were for work diary offences, while the other was for a heavy vehicle speeding offence. The five defect notices were related to loose drivers seating, insecure seatbelts, inoperable…

IT HAS been an interesting month on the road. I had my On-Site Camera turned off while using the phone to do a radio interview at night and again the following morning heading back to the depot. Unfortunately, I had a car do a U-turn less than 20 metres in front of me. I had just seen the steer wheels move and was already wary and missed him by less than a metre. Then I had a tanker overtake me where there simply was not enough room just before the Gap and had to stop to miss the ditch — thanks mate. Then another B-double tautliner tried to cross three lanes — and take the front off the truck as well — as he headed for the Logan Motorway. I…

“The acid in foods such as wine, coffee and citrus can erode tooth enamel” OUR ORAL health plays an essential part in our overall wellbeing, and when something goes wrong it can impact on all aspects of our life. The good news is there are things we can actively do to reduce the risk of oral health conditions. TRUTH ABOUT SUGAR When it comes to sugar and oral health, not all sugars stack up the same. Sugar found in sugar-sweetened beverages, sugary foods, and processed starchy foods such as cakes and biscuits, are lower in nutrition and higher in kilojoules. This can contribute to weight gain. Sugar also feeds bacteria on the surface of our teeth, which then produces acid and forms the perfect environment for dental caries! On the…

NATROAD CONFERENCE 2016 AUGUST 17-19, 2016 Cairns, Qld Held at the Cairns Convention Centre. This year’s theme is ‘Knowledge Is Power. MC’d by ABC Radio’s Anne Delaney. Includes session on ‘The Changing Landscape - how the Road Safety Remuneration Act and Fair Work Act are affecting the road transport industry. Special appearance by Beaconsfield Mine rescue hero Darren Flanaghan. For further information and to register, see the website at www . natroad.com.au/conference / GOLD COAST TRUCK SHOW AUGUST 21, 2016 Mudgeeraba Showgrounds, Qld Incorporated into the Gold Coast Car Show, and the August 20 Saturday Night Retro Rock ‘N Shine Night. Truck show runs from 7am to 3pm. Includes trade stalls, and 65 trophies up for grabs. For further info phone 0439 170 882, 0498…

MOST PEOPLE won’t have heard of the tiny Victorian hamlet of Serpentine. It’s a dot on the map north-west of Bendigo in central Victoria. Steve Cook, however, knows it well; he used to stop at the Serpentine Road House as a kid. Back then, Steve’s dad was a truck driver for Lake Boga Transport, which is now a part of the Pickering Group. A young Steve would often ride tag along for the ride. The Loddon Valley Highway is a far cry from the multi-laned east coast highways, yet it provides a major link between Melbourne and the cities of Kerang, Swan Hill and the fruit growing areas around Robinvale, Euston and even Mildura. If you buy a bunch of grapes in Melbourne, chances are they rolled through Serpentine in…

THE VICTORIAN Transport Association (VTA), the Australian Road Transport Industrial Organisation (ARTIO) New South Wales branch and the Livestock and Bulk Carriers Association (LBCA) have joined the debate around the proposed changes to the NSW General Carriers Contract Determination (GCCD). VTA says it is opposed to a fixed-price regime and will fight the claims made by the Transport Workers Union’s (TWU) NSW branch in support of mandatory kilometre and hourly rates. Meanwhile, ARTIO NSW has criticised NatRoad for a “misguided” attempt seeking exemption for its members from the proposed changes and urged NSW-based transport operators to join the discussion. NatRoad is currently its pursuit of the exemption due to the majority of its members being small trucking businesses which operate in, or merely transit through, NSW. “Already we are seeing…

WHILE MANY small-to-medium trucking operators are indicating a rise in confidence, enough are not, prompting NatRoad to seek federal government financial support. The industry body wants a one-off package for small trucking businesses to get them back on the road. “Our industry is experiencing hardship and we need to do something about it,” CEO Warren Clark says. “We are hearing first hand that people haven’t had work since April, which they are struggling to make payments on their trucks and mortgages, experiencing anxiety and facing bankruptcy. “We need to stabilise and support small trucking businesses to get them back on the road with confidence.” Clark, who has previously advised small businesses as a chartered accountant, says that NatRoad has outlined a one-off package that government could implement to help owner-drivers…

FOR GENERATIONS, Australians have made road transport our business, but that business is changing. It’s getting harder for small operators and owner-drivers to survive — and for not a small number of people. Foreign drivers are perceived to be part of the problem. The issue of foreign workers in trucking is a controversial one. The point I want to make is simple: it’s not foreign drivers who are the problem; they’re a symptom of something much bigger. Aussie drivers are finding it tough because the pressure on our industry is to do more for less, and do it quicker. Dodgy bosses will always seek to exploit people and legal loopholes. I’m not saying we forget about these individuals and their companies, but if we really want to fix things and…

ACOUSTICA Alex Lloyd Liberation Music www.liberation.com.au Alex Lloyd’s Acoustica is the latest in Liberation Music’s “Acoustic” series, which breathes new life into selected tracks of an artist’s back catalogue. Lloyd is a singer-songwriter of note and a multiple ARIA award winner, and the acoustic format suits his material just fine. A delicate touch of mandolin gives the slower version of ‘Amazing’ a whole new sound, while ‘Black The Sun’ with its subtle slide guitar is almost unrecognisable from its original state. Lloyd’s music has mostly been guitar based, but ‘Green’ has been transformed into a piano-backed ballad to great effect. In a surprise, Lloyd picks up his acoustic guitar and delivers a strong rendition of Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah’. Also among these 12 tracks are ‘Coming Home’, ‘Never Meant To Fall’,…

I RECENTLY received a letter sent to a friend who then shared the letter with me. My friend shared the writer’s thoughts. The letter writer was disparaging of the policies and outcomes — or lack thereof — from the leaders of the major political parties. The problem is that she is too busy to become involved herself. Now isn’t that a familiar catchcry? Thankfully, this country has a tradition of not having individuals taking out physical violence against politicians whose policies do not meet with the approval of the said individual, as too often happens in other societies. However, we do have a great tradition of finding excuses for not taking an active part in the political process. Yes, it can be depressingly frustrating, but politics is all about managing…

FOR A limited time, Iveco says it will provide prospective buyers of its Daily van and cab chassis range with an even greater reason to put a Daily to work in their business. Until October 31, purchasers of new Daily van and 4x2 cab chassis variants will receive three years or 200,000 kilometres of complimentary servicing, including parts and labour, along with a bonus Gerni ‘Super 140.3’ pressure cleaner valued at $599 as part of the deal, although conditions apply. For customers requiring competitive finance, Iveco says its in-house financier CNH Industrial Capital is also offering attractive finance rates of 2.99 per cent over three years as part of the program. Iveco Australia marketing manager Darren Swenson says the company is committed to providing Daily buyers with value well beyond…

FREIGHTER HAS announced the release of two new load restraint gate systems for its range of tautliner trailers. Both new systems are designed to reduce maintenance requirements and improve work health and safety for operators. The trailer manufacturer says the new load restraint gates are available in two models: a premium ‘Sliding Post Load Restraint Gates’ model, and an entry level ‘Hanging Load Restraint Gates’ model. Both can be ordered as optional upgrades on all Freighter Tautliner models, providing a rated load restraint of up to 1300kg per pallet space. According to Freighter general manager Mario Colosimo, the Sliding Post Load Restraint Gates are virtually weightless thanks to the inclusion of an integrated spring. “It’s a significant work health and safety advantage,” Colosimo says. “We have practically eliminated the risk…

IT’S INTERESTING that our friends at NatRoad have made an application to the New South Wales Industrial Relations Commission seeking a general exemption for all NatRoad members from the NSW General Carriers Interim Contract Carriers Determination. It seems to be trying to gain favour with their bigger members at the expense of their smaller members. Spare a thought for the poor souls who have unwittingly become victims at their own hand. They chose to become NatRoad members purely for the extra fuel rebate on offer, and for the occasional inquiry they might have to find a quick answer to some new development they may be struggling to understand. Owner-drivers must start representing themselves or go the way these large employer groups look to send them, and that is into the…