Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 275 i Owner Driver

IT WAS a shocking accident which many readers will remember seeing on the television news. On June 28, 2012, a young father was killed at one of the busiest intersections in Australia when a truck and its loaded container rolled on top of his car. The 19 tonnes of building products — which had not been properly restrained when loaded inside the container in China — appear to have shifted as the truck rounded a sweeping corner from the Hume Highway onto the Cumberland Highway at Liverpool in Sydney’s south-west. The container was on its way from Port Botany to a warehouse in Sydney’s west. The composite timber-substitute boards were wrapped in plastic inside a steel frame. But neither the boards nor the frame had straps over them; there was…

THE 2016 Lights On The Hill Memorial Convoy, due to take place on Saturday, February 28, 2016 has been officially postponed until 2017 due to the lack of a suitable venue. The committee reluctantly made the decision, announcing it following the annual Memorial Service in October at Gatton in south-east Queensland. The convoy had previously been postponed in 2011 in the aftermath of the Queensland floods, and was held in August that year. However, for the first time since its inception, there will be a two-year gap between convoys. In what seemed a progressive move, the 2015 Lights On The Hill convoy’s destination was switched to the Gatton Racecourse, away from its long-time previous venue of the Gatton Sports Centre and Showground. Due to the increase of trucks participating in…

JUST WHEN it seemed the annual Newcastle and Hunter Region Road Transport Awareness Day was losing momentum, the 2015 event on November 1 bounced back with increased truck participation, top-shelf entertainment and, fortunately, fine weather. Rod Hannifey took time out from his busy schedule to show off the TruckRight Industry Vehicle at Foreshore Park. Country rocker Jayne Denham, who recently signed a partnership deal with transport company ScuzzTrans, was full of energy as she pounded out songs such as ‘Addicted To The Diesel’ and ‘Grew Up Around Trucks’. Jayne was well supported by local singer Kristen Lane whose father is involved in the trucking industry, while the Eljay Freestyle Entertainment Show provided an action-packed motorcycle and bicycle stunt show. K S Easter’s stunning new black Volvo FH16 made a welcome…

Letters to the Editor need to be typed or clearly handwritten and be no more than 500 words. Letters should include name, title (e.g. owner-driver, manager) and city for publication, unless otherwise requested. Letters may be edited for clarity or space. Please be concise, so we can offer more people an opportunity to express themselves. Dear Owner//Driver ELECTRONIC WORK DIARES REGARDING ELECTRONIC work diaries (EWD): they don’t work for me. They reduce flexibility when what is needed for more safety is more flexibility. Electronic work diaries cannot work unless we change some of the rules. The debate around log books/work diaries has raged on for years and there have been many changes. Some good, some bad. The problem I have is that the debate has always been in the same…

THIS YEAR’S Adelaide Convoy For Kids, held on October 18, was the 20th running of the event. Despite having a ‘gap year’ in 2013 the convoy has emerged as a credit to the CMV Group and Novita Children’s Services. The early Adelaide Convoy for Kids featured triple road trains, double road trains and hundreds and hundreds of trucks carrying kids on various routes through Adelaide. Lessons were learned from past events and new ideas brought to the table. The Convoy for Kids returned to Adelaide streets last year with revitalised drive and energy. This year three convoys from Murray Bridge, Gawler and Port Adelaide merged before arriving at CMV Truck Sales at Cavan for the Convoy Carnival. There were many fun activities for everyone to participate in at the carnival…

BRENDAN FARRELL has been talking to the Guinness Book of Records. Apparently there is no official world record for the longest truck convoy of donated hay. But Brendan hopes to change that. The founder of Burrumbuttock Hay Runners is organising a convoy of more than 100 prime movers to cart hay north to Aramac, Queensland, on January 7, 2016. The hay will be distributed to drought-stricken farmers. “I put on Facebook that I wanted 100 trucks and got that within six weeks,” says Brendan, who hopes more trucks will join in. He urges truck operators to contact him if they would like to get involved. “If they’ve got a heart of gold and they like thinking they’re helping someone they have never met, give us a ring.” Brendan says 100…

TOLL HAS wrapped up the Transport Safety Showcase for another year, with the event drawing leading manufacturers to demonstrate safety advances in the trucking industry. Products from the likes of Volvo, Kenworth, MaxiTrans and Mercedes-Benz were on display during the one-day event, which Toll hosted at its Tennyson depot in Queensland on November 10. The day also featured the Australian Trucking Association’s safety truck and stalls providing information on workplace health and safety, GPS tracking tools, drugs and new innovations in transport equipment. Volvo provided its rollover simulator for the day to allow visitors to experience what it is like when a truck rolls and to demonstrate the importance of wearing a seatbelt. Toll national risk and safety manager Lawrence Daniels told Owner//Driver Toll’s main aim from the day was…

EVERYONE IN the Australian transport industry has heard of Wagga Wagga, a major trucking hub in south-western New South Wales. The city of about 60,000 people is on the Murrumbidgee River on a crossroads between Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide — just off the Hume Freeway, and on the intersection of the Sturt Highway and Olympic Way. So it’s no surprise that about 200 trucks turned up for the recent second running of the Riverina Truck Show and Kids Convoy on the shores of Lake Albert just out of town. ‘Best Truck Under 3 Years’ went to Ross Transport’s Mack Super-Liner, and that’s no surprise either. It’s the fourth gong the big Bulldog has received at truck shows this year. Proud driver and caretaker is Ron Duncan, from Ross Transport at…

IT REALLY is kind of hard to find a box that the Mercedes-Benz Unimog fits into. Part truck, part tractor, all off-roader — ‘the Mog’, as it’s often affectionately called, does its best to defy definition. The best clue to the true definition of the Unimog really lies in its name which is an abbreviation of the charmingly Teutonic ‘Universal-Motor-Gerät’ or Universal Motorised Working Machine. However, Daimler mostly just refer to the Mog as an implement carrier, which really just means there aren’t a lot of jobs, vocational or otherwise that it can’t do. From street sweeping to freeway verge mowing to snow ploughing to load lugging in hard-to-get-to-places, the Unimog seems to have a spec for all occasions. It can even be found shunting rail wagons. The Unimog range…

AUSTRALIAN TRUCK and trailer parts supplier MaxiParts has announced a major addition to its business — the launch of an inventory management solution, MaxiStock. According to MaxiParts, MaxiStock is a completely stand-alone system with no IT systems integration required. The company says it combines the latest in infrared scanning technology and cloud-based data management to automate a business’ inventory management and re-ordering, providing an automated customised daily usage report to better control and manage business costs. Once a stock item becomes low in a customer’s workshop or parts department, the system automatically recognises the shortfall and places an order for its replacement. MaxiParts general manager Peter Loimaranta says he was excited about the launch of MaxiStock, both for MaxiParts and its customers. “This is another example of MaxiParts providing its…

MIDCOAST TRUCKS has been voted Commercial Vehicle Business of the Year at this year’s Motor Traders’ Association (MTA) Awards for Excellence in the New South Wales motor industry. The award ceremony was held at a glittering function at Sydney’s Hilton Hotel on November 7 and was attended by more than 300 motoring businesses and special guests. Midcoast Trucks, headquartered in Macksville, was also a finalist in two other categories — Country Member of the Year, and New Vehicle Dealer of the Year. An annual event, the MTA Awards acknowledge motor traders who stand out from the crowd in numerous ways including commitment to quality, dealings with customers, efficiency and the way they generally carry out business. The winners are evaluated by an MTA judging panel and marked on the same…

IN DECADES past, when it came to road versus rail, the catchcry was ‘us versus them’. It seems crazy now but there were all sorts of restrictions on what freight trucks could cart within state borders. For example, state governments used to try to shelter their rail monopolies, and truckies would try and get around the protectionist rules, often in the dead of night. But the modern mantra seems to be all about trucks and trains working together. That’s the goal at the port of Fremantle in Western Australia, and at the centre of it is one of the west’s best-known names in transport. George Stevenson set up a wharf cartage business at Fremantle in the 1930s with a single American ‘Fisher’ truck running on solid tyres. Today Stevenson Logistics…

THE MATHIE family has been involved with the logging industry since the bullocky era, and today runs a fleet of Cummins-powered Western Stars from Dalmeny near Narooma on New South Wales’ south coast. Bruce Mathie and Sons’ four Western Stars cart hardwood logs between Batemans Bay, Sydney, Eden, Goulburn, Cooma and Wagga Wagga. “I’m the third generation,” says Phillip Mathie, 63, who left school to snig timber when he was 14. Today Phillip and his brothers Stewart and Kevin are directors of the company which employs 11 people. (A fourth brother, Gill Mathie, was involved with the business up until 2006.) Phillip is widely admired for his determination to continue working after he lost his sight. “It’s five years this Christmas since I went totally blind,” he says. His blindness…

MATTHEW AND Shane Braitling’s new Kenworth C509 was one of the most eye-catching rigs at this year’s Road Transport Hall of Fame Reunion. It was also one of the Kenworth trucks on display at the opening of the extension to the Kenworth Pavilion at the Alice Springs Road Transport Museum. The Kenworth’s stunning murals depict the World War I conflict in France and in particular, honour the service given to Australia by family patriarch William (Bill) Braitling. Brothers Matthew and Shane run the Passchendaele Cattle Co, Mount Doreen Station, which is around 400km north-west of Alice Springs, on the Tanami Track. When the Braitlings bought a second property a couple of hundred kilometres north of Alice Springs, it was decided there was enough work to justify the purchase of a…

APART FROM harvest time, Anthony Ryan’s 1980 Kenworth K125 has spent every night in the shed since he bought it second-hand in April 1983. However, it made a rare appearance outside daytime working hours when it took part in the convoy at this year’s Road Transport Hall of Fame Reunion in Alice Springs. “I have been to quite a few truck shows and always said that one day I was going to do that, and this year we did,” Anthony says. “It would have been the longest p eriod it’s been out of the shed, that’s why it looks as good as it does.” Anthony calls the small town of Halbury home. Around 150km north of Adelaide, it’s a place he has lived all of his life. The K125 was…

THE CHAIRMAN of Penske Automotive Group, Roger Penske, and mayor of Auckland Len Brown officially opened Penske’s New Zealand headquarters on November 6. Measuring just shy of 18,000 square-metres, the property has been purpose-built on the outskirts of the city and accommodates the combined resources of Penske Commercial Vehicles and Penske Power Systems. It represents more than $40 million of investment for the company. Speaking at the official opening attended by special guests and media, Penske underlined the large investment in human capital and building a state-of-the-art facility to carry the business brands into the future. The group will distribute and service Western Star and MAN trucks from the site, as well as the Detroit Diesel brand. The sale of these vehicles, however, appears to represent only a small amount…

Best Truck Under 3 Years: Ron Duncan, Ross Transport, Mack Super-Liner Best Truck 3-10 Years: Benny Purtell, Jolly Transport, Kenworth T904 Best Truck 10-20 Years: Dean Gooden, Gooden Transport, 2001 Kenworth K104 Best Truck 20 Plus Years: Des Gibbs, Ford F600 Best Fleet: Farey’s Transport, Wagga Wagga Best Dressed Truck: Dane Ballinger, Ballinger Transport, 2009 Kenworth T908 Cleanest Truck: Phil McIntosh, McIntosh Transport, International Best Fleet Participation: Ross Smith Transport Best Working Truck: EJ Jolly, Jolly Transport, 2013 Kenworth T909…

IN AN expansion of its livestock trailer servicing and repair business, Toowoomba business Rytrans has now ventured into manufacturing. One of its first projects was building an innovative B-triple livestock trailer for Johnston’s Livestock Transport. Rytrans says the 90 feet (27.4m) of carefully constructed, state-of-the-art trailers shows the quality being produced in southeast Queensland and adds to an expanding agricultural sector. This growth is evident by the Toowoomba International Wellcamp Airport recently receiving accreditation for beef export and a planned $80 million abattoir scheduled to begin construction in early 2016, just 10km from Toowoomba. Ashley Daley, Rytrans’ managing director, says both he and the team are excited about venturing into manufacturing in a booming agricultural sector within Toowoomba. “We always make it a priority to have driver safety and animal…

FOLLOWING THE release of a range of oil and fuel filters to suit Isuzu, Hino, Fuso (Mitsubishi) and UD (Nissan) commercial vehicles in April, Ryco says it has now further introduced convenient and attractively priced filter kits to further complement the Ryco Japanese Truck program. Initially 11 kits for Isuzu trucks have been launched covering oil and fuel filters to suit the 4 cylinder N series and 6 cylinder F series plus selected Giga models. These will be quickly followed by kits to suit other popular Japanese commercial vehicle applications. With cost savings in kit form over the individual Ryco oil and fuel filters, Ryco says the new products will prove popular for many workshops and truck operators, including fleets, providing convenience for the mechanic on the job. “The Ryco…

IVECO IS now offering clear back of cab (CBOC) variants on its twin steer 8x4 Stralis AD/AT models. Iveco says, in offering the CBOC options, its engineers redesigned the vehicle’s exhaust system to a horizontal orientation, while also adopting a new modular air intake now located between the front steer axles. According to Iveco, repositioning these items also allows easy access to the front of the body should maintenance be required in the case of refrigerated bodies and the like. The exhaust system’s underframe re-routing does not clash with the operation of rear engine-mounted power take-off (PTO), ensuring greater suitability for a wider array of body fitment and applications. Other changes include localising the positioning of the fuel and AdBlue tanks to the same side of the chassis for greater…

TRANSPORT CERTIFICATION Australia (TCA) is to push ahead with making electronic work diaries (EWDs) fit for purpose following a deal with the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR). NHVR executive director, productivity and safety Geoff Casey says the NHVR had contracted TCA to progress the development and implementation of EWDs. “The move to implement EWDs follows a significant level of planning and preparatory work performed by the NHVR and TCA over the last 18 months,” Casey says. “The EWD specifications are now being finalised as a first step in ensuring EWD systems meet the regulatory requirements for recording work and rest hours. “This is a key step forward and one which will be of particular interest to the telematics industry and we are encouraging them to be involved.” The deal marks…

WE’VE ALL heard of the supposed ‘whingeing Pom’. Well, George Boddey isn’t one of them. For a start the life-long truck and bus driver loves living in Perth, where he moved to from Britain 17 years ago. “I thought I’d died and gone to heaven when I came here,” George says. He doesn’t even mind Perth traffic. “It’s all right, I don’t find it a problem because I drove around London!” says the veteran container carter. “It does get busy at times but I don’t bother about.” No doubt it helps ease traffic stress that George is paid hourly by his employer of eight years, Stevenson Logistics. He describes his job as “great”. Starting at about 6am George normally does 10–12 hours a day, although he says things have gone…

SINCE CHILDHOOD, Quinten Mathie was determined to follow his father Phillip Mathie into the logging industry. Today the 29-year-old continues the family tradition, representing a fourth generation of logging Mathies. Trading as QB Mathie he runs four trucks and subcontracts for Bruce Mathie and Sons. “I spent every moment I could around the workshop and in the trucks with Dad,” Quinten says, reflecting on his childhood. He also enjoyed travelling into the bush with the late Merv Bruest, a long-term employee of Bruce Mathie and Sons. After completing an apprenticeship as a diesel fitter with Cummins at Queanbeyan, Quinten returned to Dalmeny in 2006 to maintain trucks and cart logs for Bruce Mathie and Sons. He was only 23 when he bought his own rig — a new 2009 Kenworth…

FOUR ON THE FLOOR THERE’s A story doing the rounds about four new Aussies, possibly out here on 457 Visas, who snapped up jobs driving trucks long-distance in Queensland. Apparently this quartet, in a bid to clock up as many hours and kilometres as possible, drove four-up in the one truck. That’s four blokes swapping roles behind the wheel, barely stopping for a break. In fact, they were so keen on keeping the wheels rolling that, due to a piece of ingenuity, they did not even need to stop for toilet breaks. It seems they cut a hole in the floor of the truck, and went about their business, so to speak. However, we’ve heard that their antics came to a halt when the authorities discovered their ‘modifications’ and the…

HOW MANY people in the management and driving side of the trucking industry can honestly say they’ve never taken the workshop staff for granted? When something needs fixing, everyone wants it done now, regardless of the time of day or night; when something minor isn’t fixed, people complain to other staff; when accidents happen, poor maintenance is often the first suspect. All too rarely does the rest of the Australian industry marvel at the hard work, patience and skill of most mechanics, fabricators, electricians, tyre-fitters and so on. So it’s great to see some of our best and brightest workshop people being formally recognised every year. That’s in the form of the joint Australian Trucking Association (ATA)/Australian Road Transport Suppliers Association (ARTSA) Craig Roseneder Award for Technical and Maintenance Excellence…

THE LATEST portable compressor fridge-freezer, Waeco’s CFX-28 has just hit the local market, with Dometic Australia stating it has been made with the truck driver in mind. Along with all the regular features of the existing Waeco CFX range, Dometic says the CFX-28 has been specifically designed to be compact, lightweight and efficient to meet truck requirements. For the driver’s ease of use, the CFX-28 lid opening, control panel and the deepest interior section are all at the front for quick and easy access to drinks and snacks. The new CFX-28 is said to be the perfect size for an extra on-board fridge-freezer for those long road trips or a trusted companion for the daily commute. Despite its compact and lightweight size, the CFX-28 fridge-freezer boasts a capacity of 28.2…

NARVA HAS added two new entrants to its range of driving light bars — the 9-33 multi-volt comprising a 200-watt bar producing a 18,000 lumen of light output, and the more powerful 300W variant shining 27,000 lumen. Narva says these latest additions feature a double bank of high quality ‘Cree’ LEDs, which reportedly show significant increased visibility at night time for improved safety. The new driving light bars are said to project a bright, white light both to the sides of the vehicle and far down the road due to their output and unique beam pattern. The bars are suitable as standalone lighting or to supplement traditional driving lamps. However, Narva says despite the high output performance and double row LED configuration, the bars offer an unobtrusive, low profile design…

AROUND 20 minutes south of Bendigo on the northbound side of the Calder Highway lies the Café Ravenswood, one of the newest eateries in Victoria with truck drivers in mind. Part of the Caltex service station complex, the Café Ravenswood has been in existence for just over a year. Ash Sohal has managed the cafe since it first opened and says the area was in need for a new facility, and a rest area. “There are public toilets around here which some people didn’t find quite comfortable, and this Caltex service station is behind those public toilets,” Ash says. “Now, instead of people going to the public area, they come onto this site because there is ample parking and well-cleaned toilets.” And somewhere to get a bite to eat, and…