Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 298 i Owner Driver

THE FORESHADOWED but still keenly awaited 2017 National Truck Accident Research Report has been released by the National Transport Insurance (NTI)-backed National Truck Accident Research Centre (NTARC). While some details has been aired at industry forums during the year, the whole biennial package gives a fascinating insight into trends and developments while asking searching questions of policymakers. High on the list is fatigue, which has shown a stubborn reluctance to continue being an improving factor. While September 2008 heavy vehicle driving hours reform saw a “considerable improvement” in fatigue-based losses, that is seen to have stalled. “With this current finding of 12.2 per cent we have seen neither an improvement nor deterioration in the fatigue result since the last report,” it states. “The question is: With this result and similar…

LES BRUZSA and Mark Collins were honoured for their technical expertise and hard work at the Technical and Maintenance Conference (TMC) Awards Dinner in Melbourne on October 17. Bruzsa, who is the chief engineer at the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR), was awarded the Castrol Vecton Industry Achievement Award for leading continuous improvement in heavy vehicle regulation and standards. Bruzsa’s accomplishments include computer simulation and evaluation of the dynamic performance of heavy vehicle configurations, investigations into stability, braking, safety and design of heavy vehicle combinations, accident analysis, reconstruction and investigation. NHVR CEO Sal Petroccitto says the award acknowledged Bruzsa’s passion and expertise as Australia’s foremost authority on high-productivity freight vehicles. “Les has a reputation for heavy vehicle innovation that not only extends across Australia but across the globe, where many…

FOLLOWING LAST year’s success, the Kenworth Klassic returned to take its place alongside the Clarendon Classic Rally at the Hawkesbury Showground, north west of Sydney on September 16 and 17. The Sydney Antique Machinery Club is the brains behind Clarendon Classic Rally, bringing together a huge range of machinery and, of course, Kenworth trucks. In fact, the range and variety of displays appeared endless. The credit for holding the Kenworth Klassic goes to David Chapman and Bruce Gunter, who had an army of helpers. Both were satisfied with the huge turnout and the knowledge that it turned out to be an enjoyable day for all. Some of the gear on show had the appearance of being direct from the paddock, while other machinery and trucks looked as good as the…

Dear Owner//Driver NEGATIVE SCOTTY I’ve just read a few pages in Owner// Driver, issue 297 and the rant by Scotty on page 64. I occasionally pick up a copy of your mag and I seem to recall some angst with the thrust of the conversation not being helpful, but indeed confrontational. A lot of points Scotty makes to justify the article’s attitude are well able to be seen as skewed for the purpose of the article (sensible counter reasoning and analysis can be made to refute the points raised). I am not going to rebut each point, as that would not help at all. However, it raises the question: why has the article been published? Assuming management has endorsed the article it begs the question of what is…

 THINK TOWING in south-east Queensland and you naturally think Barnes Towing. After all, it has been providing a service to Brisbane companies since 1903. “The more weight you’ve got out front of your truck the better” Today the company has 26 various trucks on the road operating out of five depots. Barnes lays claim to being the largest dedicated heavy recovery operator in the Southern Hemisphere. Stuart Klints drives a 2014 Kenworth T409 8x4 for Barnes. The last time Owner//Driver caught up with Stuart it was during the Lights on the Hill convoy a few years ago. Back then he was behind the wheel of a Scania. “I loved that Scania but two years ago my partner Yvette and I decided on a change and we moved to Perth where…

>> Quick Search To find these products online go to OwnerDriver.com.au/Search and enter the TA or DIY code show below in the keyword search panel. 2007 MACK METRO-LINER Truck is owner/ driver ex concrete agitator,new chassis fitted 8 months ago 9 speed r/r,315 hp turbo cummins motor, on air bag rear end.Very good condition for age and mileage as traded, can be fitted with refurbished 07 3073 8119 $99,500 2007 MACK METRO-LINER 2007 Mack metroliner 8x4/ 6cyl turbo 8.2Litre cumminsd diesel motor/ 315hp/ 9speed roadranger transmission/ hendrickson rubber block suspension/ to be fitted with reconditioned agitator bowl and frame/ to be 07 3073 8002 $99,500 2007 MACK METRO-LINER 2007 Mack metroliner /8x4/ cab/chassis/ 6cyl turbo diesel 8.2Litre cummins motor/315hp/273486klms/ 9speed roadranger transmission/ airbag suspension/ cab to be repainted white/ chassis…

ALTHOUGH ORDERS are now being taken for the International ProStar at Iveco dealerships around the country, the company says the model’s testing regime is ongoing. Iveco points to one of its ProStars having just completed a six month, 110,000km stint with Willaton Transport Group. The prime mover was integrated into Willaton’s 70-strong fleet and assigned to 34-pallet B-double work, operating from the company’s Morwell, Victoria, depot to Sydney return, via the Monaro Highway. International engineering manager Adrian Wright says the engineering team had sought to find a difficult route for the truck, to really test the vehicle’s capabilities. “The trip north from Morwell to Sydney along the Monaro takes in a lot of undulating terrain. The trucks really have to work hard for a lot of the journey,” he says.…

THE SHOCK death of well-known north Queensland trucking industry identity Alan Walter ‘Buddo’ Grant put a black cloud over the western Queensland community of Winton, and left many wondering how he could ever be replaced. Buddo Grant was larger than life, a man who lived life on his own terms and with a ‘my way or the highway’ approach. He was always available to help out, whether to recover a truck or assist with a rollover. He passed away on September 28, 2017, and was given a funeral on Saturday, October 7, that befitted his personality: irreverent to the end. Amid the shock and resultant bewilderment of his tragic death, an estimated 1200 mourners – many of whom had travelled vast distances – gathered in the auditorium of the Winton…

DOMESTIC AND family violence is an insidious and shamefully pervasive crime that affects far too many Australian families every year. As many as two million women and men have experienced physical violence at the hand of a partner, and many more know someone who’s experienced it. They’re our friends, sisters and brothers, mums and dads, uncles and aunts. Domestic violence is more than just physical violence. It can be financial control or emotional manipulation, like denying access to children, family and friends. Whatever form it comes in, it is cruel and isolating. Women are overrepresented in domestic violence cases. Australian Institute of Criminology data shows that one woman is killed in Australia almost every week by a partner or ex-partner, and that one in four women have experienced violence. But…

HUGHIE WILLIAMS, former Queensland branch secretary of the Transport Workers Union (TWU) has passed away. According to TWU Queensland, Williams, who turned 84 on September 3, died peacefully in his sleep on the night of October 15. Williams was state secretary from 1992 to 2010 and was the national president of the TWU in 2000. He was also state secretary during the early 1980s and had been secretary of the now defunct Brisbane sub-branch throughout the 1980s. Williams has also competed at the 1964 Summer Olympics in wrestling and was involved in organising for Brisbane’s 1982 Commonwealth Games. “Hughie was a stalwart of the union movement in his time as organiser and then branch secretary,” current TWU Qld branch secretary Peter Biagini says. “Hughie’s contribution to the union movement in…

>> Quick Search To find these products online go to OwnerDriver.com.au/Search and enter the TA or DIY code show below in the keyword search panel. 2011 KENWORTH T409 REBUILT ENGINE 2011 Kenworth T409 - SOLD WITH VIC OR NSW ROADWORTHY, Cummins 525HP ISX with INFRAME REBUILD Feb 2017... 0 klms since rebuild, 6X4 Prime Mover 03 9998 4889 $99,800 inc-GST 2012 KENWORTH T409 EX PRESTIGIOUS FLEET LAST ONE OF 4 FULL CUMMINS MAINTAINCE HISTORY ALL SERVICE HISTORY ALL ORIGIONAL DUCO AND CHASSIS PAINT TOTALLY IMMACULATE COND MUST BE SEEN LOW TARE IDEAL GRAIN ETC 03 8373 7476 $138,000 2012 KENWORTH T409 2012 model Kenworth T409 in excellent condition, 1 owner from new, had midlife recently completed, new turbo & actuator, egr cooler, this truck is in excellent 02 8315 3971…

HINO MOTOR Sales Australia (HMSA) will make a concerted pitch at the market with a series of dealership investments in coming months. The local arm of the Japanese make expects increased involvement from five of Australia’s largest automotive and commercial vehicle retail groups. “During 2017 and 2018, we will open three new Hino dealerships and upgrade four existing sites to meet increased demand,” Hino Australia general manager – brand and franchise development Bill Gillespie says. “It is significant that we have increased investment from five of Australia’s largest automotive and commercial vehicle retail groups in key locations across the country.” These will be Automotive Holding Group (AHG) in Coffs Harbour, Sci Fleet at Brisbane’s Eagle Farm, CMV Group Laverton, near Melbourne, AP Eagers at Mascot in Sydney and the Suttons…

BRAKING DOWN There’s been a bit too much truck-related madness on Australian roads lately and all of it decidedly unfunny. This one is one of those “don’t-knowwhether-to-laugh-or-cry” reports from South Australia. The driver, a meth-sucking tradie of some sort, was reported for acts to endanger life after the truck was found to have inoperable brakes. He was nabbed by heavy vehicle enforcement section police who allegedly detected the vehicle at Leawood Gardens travelling toward the city on the South Eastern Freeway at, wait for it, 90km/h. Police stopped the truck to check its mass and found that the rear brakes had been clamped off with vice grips and the front brakes were inoperable. There has to be a way of separating the professional industry from morons. UNIDEN READERS’ RIG WINNER…

 THESE DAYS it seems we’re pretty quick to brand things un-Australian. Statues? Un-Australian! People with different cultural values? Un-Australian! TWU membership? Un-Australian! Driving an automatic truck? Un-Australian! “A whole new world of driver comfort would appear!” But you know what? Stuff all that! I’ll tell you what’s bloody un-Australian! Stealing a bloke’s pluggers! That’s what! Here I was enjoying a well-earned day off at the beach, I kicked off the thongs (that’s jandals for our Kiwi cousins) and heaved my somewhat white and flabby form into the water. It was delightful, just what the doctor ordered. I was in such a good mood that I wasn’t even fazed when a whale-watching tourist boat pulled up alongside to take in the spectacle. That was until I emerged from the crashing surf,…

 IT’S MID-WEEK, just after 8am and it’s all happening at Boral’s Granville batching plant. Wedged amid the multicultural mayhem of western Sydney, the plant sits like a sprawling slab of well-defined order against the chaos and clutter beyond the fence. “The truly big gains … came from a redesigned mounting of the mixer bowl to the chassis” Just 30 or so metres away is the unrelenting pandemonium of Parramatta Road, while bordering the plant’s northern and southern boundaries are the main west and north-west rail lines. Around here, it’s just traffic and more traffic, noise and more noise. On roads in these parts, there’s no room for error. None at all. That’s not to say it isn’t busy inside the Granville plant as well, but it’s definitely a different sort…

TRUCKIES HAVE had enough, authorities have had enough, yet the issue seems increasingly difficult to curb. The ‘Report Rock Throwing’ Facebook group was started in 2014 with the aim of collating evidence, in the form of photos and descriptions, from drivers who have been targeted by rock throwers. The aim of the online group, according to the founder Andrew Wilson, is to get enough evidence together to make a submission to the relevant members of parliament. Andrew made Sonja White, the truckie who sent Owner//Driver a letter to the editor about rock throwing recently, an admin of the Facebook group few days back. Thanks to Sonja’s following in the trucking industry the group’s membership has tripled, but it needs to continue – the more people in this group the better.…

 IT’S HARD not to get excited by the sound of a big old petrol V8 heaving and breathing, and as I stand beside this old 1962 AB International I can’t help but grin as the old 361 cubic inch 8-iron splutters into life. “I even carted some machine guns one night!” Before diesels became king in road transport, these old Mopar donks had a formidable reputation for holding together as well as a reputation for getting to places in a hurry. The V8 stutter cackles from the twin side pipes; of course, if this truck was original it would be powered by a 345 International V8 rather than the Chrysler powerplant. However, that’s just a part of the story of this old highway hero. Talk about the origins of inter-capital…

IT WAS a ‘back to the future’ scenario for the annual Lights On The Hill Memorial Convoy on the weekend of September 30 and October 1. Once again, the twin convoys made their way to Gatton from Withcott to the west and Bundamba to the east, bound for Gatton. For the 2017 event, however, it was back to the familiar stomping ground of the Gatton Showground. As well as a date change from February to the first weekend in October in a bid to escape the summer heat, the convoy’s destination had shifted to the Gatton Racecourse in the previous two years. However, the showground has always been Lights On The Hill’s preferred option, and with extra space being made available, the decision to return was a no-brainer. It turned…

OWNER//DRIVER caught up with Jack Humphrey at the BP Archerfield in Brisbane as he was waiting for a load home to Western Australia. Instead of sitting around, Jack was passing the time polishing his rig. “I was lucky as the old man set us up,” Jack recalls of his beginnings in the industry. It’s a slightly bittersweet story for Jack, but with a happy ending. From a young age he was keen to follow his father and get behind the wheel, but with Jack aged 18, getting the appropriate licence proved to be an obstacle. It was only when Jack’s father was diagnosed with cancer that the opportunity arrived to become a professional driver. “Dad, Grant Humphrey, has driven for 40 years and as a young man I always wanted…

PACCAR AUSTRALIA, parent company of DAF Trucks Australia, has announced the launch of a new DAF website. Paccar says DAF’s integrated campaign message – ‘Do the Math, Buy a DAF’ – design elements have been the foundation for the new website that is modern, clean, and provides visitors with an engaging experience. By taking a fresh and coordinated approach, DAF has created a clear connection between all of its assets while maintaining its brand position in a fresh and responsive environment. The new site reflects the brand platform DAF Trucks Australia has been promoting in 2017. It has been designed to provide the ultimate user experience with improved navigation and functionality, allowing visitors to access product information and videos with the option to share information across major social networking sites.…

CONTINUING THE tradition set in 2016 by the Australian earthmoving industry to stage its own event, the 2018 National Diesel Dirt and Turf Expo is on again from Friday, April 13 to Sunday, April 15. Held at Penrith Panthers in western Sydney, the Expo is a free entry, free parking, entertaining and family-friendly event designed for anyone with an interest in the earthmoving and related industries and who wants to check out the latest in earthmoving machinery, trucks, tools, systems and processes. Major industry suppliers have again supported the Expo, with Moody Kiddell & Partners being the 2018 Gold Sponsor. CEO Alex Moody says “the National Diesel, Dirt and Turf Expo is an important event and Moody Kiddell & Partners is proud to be the Gold Sponsor for the 2018…

TWENTY YEARS ago, AIR CTI founder Chet Cline began developing his company’s central tyre inflation system to allow drivers to tailor their load for the conditions. Promising to offer better traction, better tyre wear and a better ride, the Australian-owned and -operated company says it all adds up to improved safety, fuel economy and job scheduling. “Ultimately, I believe I am developing a business that will lower truck operation costs in numerous areas,” Cline says. “For instance, running the optimal tyre pressure increases tyre life by at least 30 per cent while reducing maintenance through reduced wear and tear on the truck and trailer via excessive vibration from optimising tyre pressures, therefore reducing down time, which most operators don’t understand the real costs.” This reduction has strong causation effects, according…

VICTORIAN TRAILER builder, Vawdrey Australia, has launched its new patent pending Auto Lock Deck system, which it says will optimise deck handling safety and efficiency. According to Vawdrey, the Auto Lock Deck system promotes a safer workplace environment through innovative design, building on the same proven locking system as its successful Auto Mezz Deck range. Vawdrey national sales director Paul Vawdrey says the Auto Lock Deck is a boon for the commercial road transport in terms of performance gains. “The Auto Lock Deck is simple to operate and can save up to 10 minutes for every deck movement,” Vawdrey says. “To lower the deck, the operator simply selects the unlock function, lifts the deck to disengage the locks and then lowers the deck to the desired position. “It ratchets through…