Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 305 i Owner Driver

IT’S A RARITY for a truck publication to include a lengthy article about a truck dealership group, let alone six pages’ worth. But that’s exactly what Owner//Driver is featuring in this month’s edition. No ordinary dealership, mind you. We’re talking Brown & Hurley, a name synonymous with the Kenworth brand in Australia. Our intrepid technical editor Steve Brooks made the trip to northern New South Wales to the town of Kyogle, the birthplace of the first Brown & Hurley outlet to uncover the history behind what is still a thriving family-based multi-branch operation. Brown & Hurley are part of Australia’s trucking folklore. Then again, a number of the classic trucks which made their way up the old Hume Highway in Victoria in April go even further back than 1946, the…

So says veteran NSW operations manager Rudy Terkes. He’s just one of many vocal supporters who like the way Truck Moves goes about its business. He knows how much time and money is saved. And he knows just how valuable a resource they are to his company and employees. “We’re a family-orientated company. We’ve got married employees. When you work as much as we do, and we work a fair bit, come Saturday or Sunday you don’t want to move a truck. You just want to stay home with the kids,” says Terkes. For managers like Terkes, Truck Moves eases the burden and eliminates the hassle and headaches of moving trucks interstate They’ll quite happily give Truck Moves and its 125 experienced drivers the task of delivering hundreds of vehicles…

WHEN IT COMES to purchasing a new truck one of the major considerations for operators is whole-of-life costs – in fact, according to a Truck Industry Council survey of truck customers, whole-of-life costs and repair and maintenance costs were the main factors that influenced their decision. For owner-drivers, the purchase of a new truck is a significant outlay that can impact severely on their bottom line. Yet we know we need to renew the Australian truck fleet. Newer trucks can increase productivity, improve safety and reduce emissions. Despite the truck fleet requiring modernisation, the Australian Parliament recently passed the Interstate Road Transport Legislation (Repeal) Bill 2018 with the support of both the Government and Opposition. This legislation closes the Federal Interstate Registration Scheme (FIRS) to new entrants and re-registration by…

LIEUTENANT ALBERT BORELLA, a Victoria Cross recipient during the First World War, has been commemorated with a recently opened Hume Highway rest area named in his honour at Murlo in New South Wales. Lieutenant Borella served in both World Wars. He was awarded the Military Medal for conspicuous bravery in 1917 and was mentioned in despatches for his devotion to duty. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Michael McCormack says Lieutenant Borella was awarded Australia’s highest award for acts of bravery in wartime, the Victoria Cross, for his bravery in 1918, leading a platoon in an attack to straighten the frontline beyond Villers-Bretonneux. “While ahead of his troops, Lieutenant Borella single-handedly captured a machine gun. After clearing a trench and dug outs, he then inspired his men…

“Often the foods we choose at emotional times can be comfort foods.” AUSTRALIAN truck drivers face long hours on the road, and being under pressure to meet client schedules often results in drivers eating on the go rather than stopping to have a break and a rest at mealtimes. However, eating while driving makes it much harder to manage your health and weight – this is because you are eating mindlessly. Mindless eating refers to eating when you’re distracted; it generally means you don’t truly enjoy your food or even really register what you eat. Mindless eating can also lead you to eat more at one sitting because it takes 20 minutes after you start eating to send the message to your brain to say, “You’re good, you’re done, you’re…

“Some people with body odour don’t even realise how bad they smell.” FOLLOWING ON from the question I asked last month: When you are looking for someone to work with, either an employee or a sub-contractor, who will spend a substantial time on the road, driving from point A to point B and interaction with the general public on your behalf … what are the five most important things you look for in a person? The feedback I received from a community of 50,000 drivers and transport owners and operators was: • Attitude of the person: 44 per cent • Customer service and communication: 21 per cent • Driving ability and record: 15 per cent • Personal hygiene: 2 per cent • Mechanical skill: 8 per cent Last month we…

“The price for non-adherence is $1000.” HYPOCRITE: a person who practises hypocrisy, especially one pretending to be virtuous. Hypocrisy: the pretence of having certain qualities, beliefs, or feelings especially admirable or virtuous ones. Virtuous: word family (adjective) of virtue – the quality of moral goodness or excellence. For some time now I have had an ambition to pull two trailers to the ‘top end’. I started my career in road transport working as a sales representative for a Brisbane-Darwin organisation and for the same organisation managing its Katherine depot. Managing the depot was a flowery term for off-loading Katherine freight at any time of the day or night that the trucks came through and then delivering the same to its local destination. Doing a double-up was of a hopeless dream,…

In 2009 the impact of road crashes (apart from the impact to society) was estimated to be costing the Australian economy $15 billion per year, in 2017 this has increased to approximately $27 billion per year. With the number of vehicles on the road increasing every year then this figure is expected to continue to increase. In studies done by the NSW and Federal Governments it was found that heavy vehicles account for around 2.5 percent of registered vehicles and travel only about 7 percent of Vehicle Kilometres travelled. The unfortunate fact is that around 16 percent of all road fatalities involve a heavy vehicle and 80 percent of those killed are light vehicle occupants, motorcyclist, cyclists or pedestrians, with light vehicles/passenger cars contributing up to 90 percent of those…

TERMINAL TRACTORS firm Daysworth International has rejuvenated the Diamond Reo truck brand. A one-time White Motor Corporation subsidiary in the US, Diamond Reo was a heavy-duty road truck that graced Australian highways over the past three decades but the firm hit the wall in 2013. Vodanovich Brothers, then trading as the Australian Diamond Reo, assembled and sold the Diamond Reo Giant in the 1980s. Now, Daysworth has taken the covers off its subsidiary’s two new models – the Diamond Reo Giant 540hp (403kW) 6x4 prime mover and the 8x4 rigid. The Australian truck market is one of the world’s most competitive, but Daysworth CEO Chris Catto believes there’s a place for Diamond Reo here. “Clearly the truck market is huge, so we’re not trying to be everything to everyone,” Catto…

VOLVO TRUCKS headquarters in Gothenburg, Sweden, has announced the introduction of a cloud-based service, Connected Safety, which allows Volvo trucks and Volvo cars to automatically alert each other to hazardous traffic situations. Thanks to pioneering collaboration, the two independent vehicle manufacturers are allowing their cars and trucks to share real-time traffic hazard information. The passenger-car version of Connected Safety was launched by Volvo Cars in 2016. With Volvo Trucks now rolling out its version, trucks and cars are able to alert each other to potential hazards. This is possible because the two companies share safety data between their respective clouds. “Expanded cooperation between different players is one of the most important keys to improved road safety,” says Carl Johan Almqvist, traffic and product safety director at Volvo Trucks. Connected Safety…

THE GERMAN GOVERNMENT is co-financing a research project to test and develop electric road technology for eHighways using Scania trucks. Volkswagen Group Research together with Siemens will develop technology and electric hybrid long-haulage Scanias for the German eHighway research project. This research is a pre-phase before the start-up of three different test areas on German public roads, with electric power supplied from overhead lines. The project, ‘Trucks for German eHighways’, aims to reduce carbon emissions from long-haul heavy-duty commercial vehicles. During 2019 and 2020, electrically powered trucks are to be tested on three new German eHighways. In the first phase of the project, Scania will supply two electric hybrid long-haulage prototype trucks with different powertrains: one will have a single battery with a 15kWh capacity, the other will have several…

IN A CASH FLOW-intensive business like trucking, fuel savings are the financial icing on the profitability cake. Fuel is one of the largest expenses incurred by a transport business, accounting for between 30 and 40 per cent of running costs. But it’s also something that can be managed. My job with Volvo Trucks Australia is to work with customers, gain an insight into their operation and develop tailor-made fuel efficiency strategies. I also get to spend quite a bit of time playing with Volvo’s Dynafleet telematics system, which turns out to be a very accurate and easy way of keeping tabs on fuel economy. One of the more impressive developments I’ve come across in the Volvo Trucks universe recently is I-Shift with crawler gears. Crawler functions in some automated transmissions…

SO WHAT was all that for? This is the question we must surely be asking the transport employer bodies which sided with the Federal Government in abolishing fair minimum rates for truck drivers two years ago. It turns out this disastrous move, which in the stroke of a pen also abolished accountability on clients like retailer Aldi, hasn’t resulted in any come-back for these transport employer groups at all. This we can see clearly from the recent Federal Budget. There was a $2 billion cut to infrastructure funding, compared to forward-estimated funding in the previous budget, according to the Australian Automobile Association and the peak body Infrastructure Partnerships Australia. The Australian Automobile Association also criticised the “absence of a major commitment to road safety” in the budget. The likes of…

“We need better driver and road safety education at the secondary school level.” From the ATA Ken Wilkie (www.ownerdriver.com.au, April 27, Whole Industry Targeted) makes a strong case on why we need to stand up for the industry. On this, the Australian Trucking Association (ATA) completely agrees. Ken has said that no one from the ATA has been calling for independent, unbiased reviews of heavy vehicle crashes to determine the true causes. On this Ken is incorrect, but it is also a clear signal to the ATA that we need to double down and push even harder for independent safety investigations. The ATA is fighting to extend the role of the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) to cover heavy vehicle crashes. The ATSB conducts independent investigation of transport crashes in…

GRAFFITI U Keith Urban Capitol/Universal www.getmusic.com.au Keith Urban’s new release Graffiti U has the Australian-bred artist again stretching the boundaries, more than any other current artist labelled as country. Urban reportedly came up with the Graffiti U title due to the 15 new tracks’ varying musical styles. Up-tempo opener ‘Coming Home’ features guest vocals from pop artist Julia Michaels, with Urban on anything with six strings and Canadian producer J. R. Rotem handling everything else. There’s a reggae flavour to ‘My Wave’, with songwriter and singer Shy Carter adding a rap midstream. Up-and-coming country pop artist Kassi Ashton brings her vocals to motoring track ‘Drop Top’, there’s a trademark Urban guitar solo on ‘Steal My Thunder’, and he recognises the women in his life on ‘Female’, written after the Harvey…

WAUCHOPE YESTERYEAR TRUCK & MACHINERY SHOW July 14 & 15, 2018. Wauchope Showground, NSW Featuring historic and late model working trucks, vintage cars and tractors, machinery, motorcycles and stationary engines. Plus market stalls, swap meet and family entertainment. Free entry and camping for exhibitors. Saturday night fully catered meal and unreserved auction with proceeds to charity. For info on the truck exhibition, phone Kirby Maxwell on 0407 594 149 or see the Wauchope Yesteryear Truck and Machinery Show Club’s Facebook page. CASINO TRUCK SHOW August 4, 2018. Casino, NSW Sponsored by North Coast Petroleum. Truck Parade will roll through Johnston and Centre Sts from 10am. Live music, family entertainment, face painters, food stalls, markets, amusement rides. Plus plenty of blinged up trucks from all across Australia will be parked in…

“Being paid by the kilometre is dangerous overall.” HOPE YOU all got a chance to read the latest ramblings of the Victorian Transport Association (VTA) in relation to its newest revelation that there may be a “looming crisis” whereby transport companies are struggling to find competent drivers to strap into their trucks. The VTA is even calling for the State Government to introduce “major” reforms to keep unsafe drivers away from suburban streets. Really, it’s that bad? Who would have guessed! This has even prompted the managing director of Secon Freight Logistics to admit his company is struggling to find quality employees: “We’re not getting quality drivers.” I hope these people are not seeking any sympathy. Clearly they have had their heads firmly shoved in such a place that they…

THE NATIONAL HEAVY VEHICLE Regulator (NHVR) has announced that it is accepting applications from Australian and international companies to provide electronic work diaries (EWDs) as an effective alternative to written work diaries. Already 37 technology providers and transport operators have lodged a Notice of Intent with the NHVR to submit their EWDs for approval. NHVR project manager Amanda Capper says all approvals will be based on the requirements of the EWD technical standards. “The NHVR will conduct that assessment through our accreditation unit,” Capper says. “It has a number of steps to it about meeting all the requirements of standards and setting any conditions there might need to be on approval. “But certainly it’s a performance-based specification so as long as it meets the requirements and performs in the way…

“The Pacific Highway has never had sufficient rest areas.” THE PHOTO on this page is of the Newell Highway at Trewilga, just south of Peak Hill. Well over 12 months ago work started on a new alignment to straighten one of the few twisty bits left on the Newell. At that time I rang the Roads and Maritime Services’ (RMS) contact number and asked what would happen to the old road, suggesting it would be good for a truck rest area. I rang them a number of times during the time the work was underway, again asking for consideration for part of the old road to be used as a truck rest area. The first excuse I was given was that the bridge at Hallinan’s Creek had to be removed.…

RETIRED TRUCK DRIVER and fleet operator Don Opperman of Kilmore is being remembered as one of the industry’s most-respected identities following his death on April 30, 2018. He was 88. Donald Henry Opperman was born in Whittlesea, Victoria, in 1930. He began his trucking career in 1948 when he purchased a KS5 International tray truck to cart palings and logs. From 1952 Opperman’s Transport ran interstate, initially with a 190 International and White WC22. In 1956 he was among the many truck drivers stranded on the Hume Highway when rain caused the road to fail near Tarcutta. Opperman is best remembered for his famous fleet of head-turning Diamond Ts which ran interstate to Sydney, Adelaide and Brisbane in the 1950s and 1960s. He also owned International R190s and Ford F600s.…

“It should move compliance and enforcement away from random roadside intercepts.” RECENT ATTENTION regarding heavy vehicle compliance and enforcement activities begs the question as to who is leading these regulatory approaches. With serious road trauma (serious injury and death) on the rise, where are industry and the community to find the answers? Heavy vehicle road safety is, at present, incohesive. Where is this leadership and in which regulatory agency? There are many factors at play here, more than just the actions (or inactions) of regulators to adequately regulate and create a safer industry. An explosion of technology and innovation, coupled with increased economic growth and infrastructure development, as well as our major cities experiencing million-person population growth over the next 10 years, will see massive transformation in the industry. How…

BRAD COX Brad Cox Tamworth Music Works www.bradcoxofficial.com Big-voiced Brad Cox had the honour of winning the 2018 Toyota Star Maker competition at Tamworth in January. Part of the prize was recording sessions where Cox linked up with award-winning producer Matt Fell for this self-titled debut album. Cox tucked himself in a cabin on the NSW north coast to pen the poignant ‘Drinking Pioneer’ as well as the thought-provoking ballad ‘Reflections’, the latter featuring singer-songwriter Imogen Clark on harmony vocals. Cox gets behind the wheel on ‘Red Light’, a country-rock track about love and “hitting every red light”, and Fell adds keyboards to another driving track, ‘Found My Way Home’. Hunter Beasley brings banjo to the bluegrass-rock sound of ‘Towels’, arguably the album’s best. A classy first-up effort. PORT SAINT…

“We see several fuel and powertrain pathways to a fossil-free future” A FOSSIL-FREE COMMERCIAL transport system in the timeframe of the Paris Agreement target is not only possible, but also financially attractive from a societal perspective. This is the key conclusion of a study initiated by Scania. “Reaching zero CO2 emissions in our sector in the timeframe of the Paris Agreement is attainable but will call for change at an unprecedented high speed, and for serious and joint private and public sector commitment,” Scania president and CEO Henrik Henriksson says. Scania says a comprehensive analysis, undertaken and reviewed by an external academic panel, shows that several pathways can be pursued to phase out carbon emissions. Tracing the road to zero emissions by 2050 through a back-cast modelling approach, the analysis…

IVECO HAS LAUNCHED a new app, MyIVECO, with extra connected services for vehicle owners and drivers. The app has product information, news and promotions, and opens access to connected services such as Find a Dealer, Book a Service, and the red call button for 24/7 immediate assistance. Iveco explains that the Find a Dealer function allows users to its nearest dealer and service point wherever they are. By creating an account, they will also be able to Book a Service at their dealership of choice very easily on the MyIVECO app. Should they need assistance, the red call button puts them in direct contact with Iveco Care, which will be available at all times to provide immediate support. “MyIVECO is the ideal tool for Iveco vehicle owners and drivers,” APAC…