Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 332 i Owner Driver

EXPANDING NETWORKS and reducing the need for access permits will continue to boost freight efficiency according to a productivity blueprint the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) released recently. South Australian transport minister Corey Wingard sees the NHVR’s Heavy Vehicle Productivity Plan 2020-25 as an important step to ensure governments and road managers were taking steps to meet Australia’s future freight growth. “The plan outlines important objectives, including partnering with local governments to build capability and promoting more productive heavy vehicles that are better for the environment and communities, as well as providing certainty and consistency with access,” Wingard says. “Here in South Australia, we’re already seeing the benefits of the notices covered under the South Australia Load Carrying Vehicle’s Operator’s Guide, updated in July and the National Class 2 Road…

“I’ll also redo the interior. I’m just not a fan of beige.” I’M PRETTY SURE I’ve said it before and I’m sure I’ll say it in the future many times. However, half of you never listen to me anyway so I’m going to start this story by repeating myself. I love my job, I really do. Days like today where I set out to learn a little more about one of the coolest little Macks around, and end up meeting a character that you could honestly make an entire Netflix series on Steve Marriott is that man: a Cockney with tales that include being a driver/trailer-man on one of the world’s largest heavy-haulage moves in Saudi Arabia, to selling encyclopaedias in Germany to US servicemen, driving road trains between Adelaide…

The National Diesel Dirt & Turf Expo at the Sydney Dragway, which was previously re-scheduled to October 2020, has been deferred until April 2021. The event will now run from Thursday, April 9, to Sunday, April 11. The decision by the Expo management to set a new date for the event was taken after a detailed review of potential COVID-19 public health risks. “These risks were assessed in conjunction with continual monitoring of the advice provided by the New South Wales government and New South Wales health that would enable us to fully comply with public health orders, and to protect the health and well-being of our exhibitors and visitors,” says Expo manager Marti Zivkovich. Another key factor in the decision to defer was the complexities faced by sponsors and…

In July, PACCAR Parts relaunched its new loyalty program called Privileges Plus. It was rolled out with a new customer platform that has been built on the same principles that defined the previous iteration. However, the new platform has gone the extra mile in promoting the latest offers and savings on quality truck and trailer parts to members through an easy-to-use client portal. The program has been a year in the making, with well thought-out features, technical improvements for comfortable navigation and exciting discount offers for customers. PACCAR understands how important it is for businesses to keep their vehicles on the road at all times. Any downtime can have huge impact on operations and incur uninvited costs and it is no secret that the Covid-19 pandemic has put extra pressure…

AFTER several years of rumour and speculation, Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA) headquarters in the riotstricken city of Portland, Oregon has announced it will reveal an entirely new Western Star platform later in September. Due to Covid-19 restrictions, the launch will be a ‘virtual reveal event’ from DTNA headquarters in the US. Australian fans should not, however, raise their hopes that the new Star will be arriving here anytime soon. Due to the pandemic and other factors, a right-hand drive version is apparently still a long way off. A very long way, according to Owner//Driver’s sources.…

ENERGY INFRASTRUCTURE firm Jemena is running what it says an Australian-first electric powered ‘cherry picker’ truck as part of its effort to reduce carbon emissions across the Jemena Electricity Network in Melbourne’s north-west. The addition of the electric elevated work platform truck aims to reduce Jemena’s carbon output by 30 tonnes per year and is the result of a partnership with Australian electric propulsion company SEA Electric. “SEA Electric [is] a Melbourne-based manufacturer of electric vehicles and leader in converting commercial vehicles from diesel to electric,” Jemena executive general manager for electricity distribution Shaun Reardon says. “The cherry picker was converted into an electric vehicle as part of a major reconstruction over a 12-month period.” SEA Electric sales director for Australia and New Zealand Joe Di Santo says his team…

Road train operators can now access more than 900km of additional road network, making it easier for producers and manufacturers to move freight across the state. Minister for Regional Transport and Roads Paul Toole says this is great news for the freight industry, which will help to reduce costs and improve productivity. “After an extensive assessment of road train vehicle performance and engaging with key stakeholders, we’ve been able to open up more than 900 kilometres of additional road network on and east of the Newell Highway to Type 1 A-double road trains,” Toole says. “These road trains can carry up to 25 per cent more freight per trip than a 26 metre B-double, which means larger loads and less trucks on the road, reducing the wear and tear on…

HAVE YOU ever gone into a lolly store with your mind set on one particular lolly, then by the time you get down to where that lolly is you’ve seen a half dozen more lollies that you just have to have? You know that feeling right? How about I put it in a way that you can probably relate to a little easier. Have you ever gone into the bottle store to pick up a carton and then by the time you get to the cool store at the back you’ve ended up with a trolley full of scotch, rum and some ciders that just looked too good to pass by? Now you are with me aren’t you! Well, metaphorically speaking, that was the sticky situation I found myself in…

Did you get down to South Bank when you were in town for last year’s Brisbane Truck Show? The music and BBQ at the Plough Inn were amazing. Up and down Little Stanley Street and throughout the precinct, there were great deals in every restaurant and bar, especially for Truck Show attendees. Or did you see the amazing display from Volvo Group Australia in front of the casino in Redacliff Place? ‘Mack the Transporter’, the Pilbara Heavy Haulage Girls’ pink trucks (looking Mickey Mouse even after stretching their legs across the Nullarbor), the Jimmy Barnes-inspired ‘Working Class Mack’ and a whole bunch of other new releases and favourites were all on show. What about the Daimler display in Queen Street Mall? How good was it to see school kids ooh-ing…

LET’S FLICK BACK to the good ol’ days. Like, last year’s Brisbane Truck Show. It already seems a lifetime ago, but back in May 2019, when people stood shoulder-to-shoulder as the truck industry presented its latest and greatest hardware in all its glittering glory, it’s doubtful anyone had heard the term ‘social distancing’. If they had, it was probably in reference to inmates and introverts rather than the general population. Likewise, in most minds ‘Corona’ was just another beer and ‘virus’ was an annoying bug that seemed to affect computers more than people. But as we now all know only too well, there’s nothing flippant or frivolous about a pandemic. The changes in society and industry over a very short time have been breathtaking. Literally! Yet, without downplaying the seriousness…

BLUEPARROTT has announced the introduction of its next generation B450-XT noise-cancelling Bluetooth headset, which the company says is engineered for superior calls in high-noise environments. The B450-XT boasts enhanced comfort, durability and more flexible charging and firmware update options, while the design of the upgraded headset is said to keep pace with the demands of life on the go. The new B450-XT headset is reported to deliver improved comfort through its padded headband and large, cushioned earcups for all-day use. BlueParrott says the headset is even more durable with an IP54-rating to protect against dust and moisture for the toughest environments, and now comes with USB-C charging to streamline charging across devices. The new headset is also claimed to enable easy firmware updates on the go using the BlueParrott App…

DETAILS HAVE emerged on the Volvo Group Trucks Technology (GTT) Wacol-based team’s ongoing testing of the truck maker’s heavy haulage componentry in local conditions. According to Volvo, a recent incident in the Northern Territory underscores not only the gruelling conditions trucks operate in but just how much damage a Volvo FH can handle “and still get the job done”. “Heat, dust and heavy gross weights all conspire to push engineering capabilities to the test,” Volvo’s account of the incident notes. “The team of 40 engineers are tasked with engineering locally manufactured Volvo and Mack products to create a uniquely Australian range of trucks,” the report notes. “However, the Australian team also provide support to other markets when it comes to torture-testing components destined for other parts of the globe.” In…

THE TRANSPORT Education Audit Compliance Health Organisation (TEACHO) has received $250,000 of heavy vehicle safety funding to support the Transport Industry Mental Health Initiative: Steering Healthy Minds. TEACHO, the transport industry training and research body, was allocated the funds through the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator’s (NHVR) 2020 Heavy Vehicle Safety Initiative, which is supported by the federal government. Transport Workers’ Union (TWU) Queensland branch secretary Peter Biagini believes the funding would support the organisation to improve heavy vehicle safety through the promotion of positive mental health programs across the transport industry. “Poor mental health is a blight on the transport sector in this country,” Biagini says. “TEACHO, in conjunction with the TWU and employers, has spent the last 18 months developing and rolling out a mental health pilot program in…

WITH THE IMPROVEMENT of Australian truck drivers’ health and wellbeing in mind, the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) has announced the allocation of heavy vehicle safety funding to the Queensland Trucking Association (QTA) for the Driving Heart Health Project. The funding became available through the NHVR’s 2020 Heavy Vehicle Safety Initiative (HVSI) and provided by the federal government. The initiative was announced by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development, Michael McCormack, and the Assistant Minister for Road Safety and Freight Transport early in August. The Driving Heart Health project aims to increase physical and psycho-social health awareness for heavy vehicle drivers through an early-intervention health screening program which assesses interrelated biomedical, psychological and modifiable lifestyle indicators. “Many truck drivers work and live with occupational pressures…

In a first of its kind, the Casino Beef Week Promotions Committee has announced the running of the inaugural North Coast Petroleum Casino International Virtual Expo and Truck Show 2020. This online event will run from October 3 to 10. The regular annual Casino Truck Show was scheduled to run on August 1, but the committee was forced to cancel the event following the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. However, the committee says the virtual expo and truck show will provide the transport industry with a platform to engage with the local communities until the regular event recommences in 2021. “We cancelled the Casino Truck Show due to Covid-19, which disappointed all our loyal truckies, their families and the Richmond Valley region. However, Darren ‘Goodo’ Goodwin and the Casino Beef…

IT WAS EARLY September, 1978. I was just days off turning 26 years of age and as memory reminds me, it was a stunningly bright Spring day I had one suit, one unstained tie, and wore both to the interview. The big red leather chair felt like it was swallowing me. Across the office, the squat little man sitting behind a desk littered with books and scraps of paper, wanted to know why a young man who’d been formally trained as a journalist, then chopped and changed jobs like a model changes frocks, should be given the job of staff writer on a truck magazine. Not just any magazine, but Truck & Bus Transportation, the highly respected industry title printed every month since 1936. Inept management would ultimately destroy this…

It would be difficult to find a worse place than the Yass service centre on the Hume Freeway to park a B-double for an overnight camp. Finding a worse place to eat than this public pig pen would, however, be more difficult. Vastly more difficult. It was a cold July night and the ‘Specials’ on the menu at the Coolabah Tree Café included curried sausages and rice, so being hungry and a tad adventurous, it seemed a reasonable if potentially risky repast. No worries, I had Quick-eze in the bag. Soon enough, surprisingly soon when I think about it, a grubby hand in a grubby glove delivered a bowl of tepid slush. “Sorry mate, they’ve run out of rice,” the grubby owner of the grubby hand in the grubby glove…

SCANIA AUSTRALIA has announced the launch of an Approved Used Truck program across its nationwide network of branches which it says will take the risk out of the purchase of a pre-owned truck. In order to qualify for Scania Approved status, the pre-owned Scania vehicles must be less than five years old and have covered less than 800,000km. Company-trained technicians will undertake a stringent and probing 108-point check at a Scania workshop, which concludes with a thorough test drive. Trucks passing the inspection will be sold with a three-month Scania Driveline Protection Warranty as well as any of the remaining original factory warranty (where applicable). For an additional modest fee, the Scania Driveline Protection Warranty may be extended to 12 months from the date of purchase, so long as maintenance…

MAXITRANS has recorded a net after tax loss of $35.5 million as the trailer-maker joins many other listed companies in a sea of red ink during this annual reports season. This represents a fall of 31.3 per cent on a 9.9 per cent revenue fall to $317.5 million and the dip into the red is put down to “impairments and other non-underlying costs” of $36 million after tax. Most of this effort is centred on the main plant in Ballarat. “Despite these measures delivering a $10.1m benefit, these weren’t significant enough to offset the decline in volume, mix and manufacturing overhead recoveries of $17.1m,” the company states. The trailer segment’s revenues fell 15.4 per cent to $205.5 million, though it is noted the second half of last year was better…