Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 285 i Owner Driver

ELECTRONIC work diaries (EWDs) are “doomed to fail” without also reforming the trucking industry, according to one of Australia’s top transport fatigue researchers. EWDs are a “side issue” to the main cause of fatigue, which is commercial pressures in transport, says Professor Ann Williamson from the University of New South Wales. “There’s nothing wrong with electronic work diaries in themselves, but I don’t think they are going to solve any problems when the problems are about the way work is done in the industry,” Williamson says. “There’s no point in putting electronic diaries in trucks where the truck drivers are being motivated to push the envelope. “It won’t work, it puts extra pressure on and is just doomed to fail. The worry is they will become the main focus of…

THE SUBJECT of the National Heavy Vehicle Law (NHVR) fatigue management guidelines was one of concern among owner-drivers and small operators, according to a report on the effects of the Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal (RSRT) from the Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman Kate Carnell. Based on industry feedback, the report found: “Fatigue management laws under the National Heavy Vehicle Law are inflexible and as a result may lead to perverse situations, such as permitting a person to drive when they are fatigued. “There appeared to be consensus that the regulations pertaining to rest breaks are too rigid and put too much pressure on drivers. “Rest breaks are often impacted by waiting, loading and unloading times, and some drivers described ‘grey areas between resting and working time’. “The regulations…

INDUSTRY REPRESENTATIVE Heavy Vehicle Industry Australia (HVIA) is looking for Australia’s best apprentices with the launch of the HVIA National Apprentice of the Year Awards. Forming part of the body’s workforce development promotional initiative, the new awards program is calling for apprentices in the heavy vehicle repair, service and manufacturing sectors, employed by HVIA member companies, and who are in the final stages of their formal training in 2016. With the move from the Queensland-based Commercial Vehicle Industry Association of Australia to a national body in September last year, HVIA says it is expanding its 35-year-old state awards night to the whole country. Announcing the news, outgoing HVIA president Bob Martin says the national search “is a great leap forward for the national heavy vehicle industry”. “I urge you to…

Dear Owner//Driver PUBLIC SERVANTS UNACCOUNTABLE This industry is full of stories of exploitation, hence the creation of the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) and the Fair Work Commission (FWC). Underpaid workers are complaining to the FWO in huge numbers, with some employees being told the “FWO can’t help”. We have entrusted these taxpayer-funded government agencies to look out for taxpayers, and to keep employers honest, accountable and to a minimum standard. Now we discover the FWC is approving Enterprise Agreements that do not meet the Award minimum rates. Clever wording of clauses give the impression employees are better off. Yet subsequent clauses strip away the rates to leave the real rate, far below the minimum Award. All with the blessing of these highly paid public servants. It is uncertain if this…

AFTER A massive anniversary year in 2015, this year’s Shell Rimula Wall of Fame induction ceremony at the Alice Springs Road Transport Museum was a little more subdued. But there were still 69 inductees to be added to the walls of the Hall of Fame. The question often asked about this event is why it has to be held in Alice Springs. Road Transport Hall of Fame (RTHOF) CEO Liz Martin quips back, “Because this is where we live, we’d be silly to hold it anywhere else!” Alice Springs Mayor Damian Ryan hits the nail on the head: “Because it’s the geographical centre of Australia.” Big event or not, it was still an important weekend for those who were inducted and their loved ones. It was an opportunity for the…

NEW ZEALANDER Matt Gillatt has taken out the Mercedes-Benz Truck Australia/New Zealand Technician of the Year award. The 31-year-old from Keith Andrews Trucks service centre in Whangarei, 150km north of Auckland, emerged the winner from an extremely tight contest of the best Mercedes-Benz commercial vehicle technicians in Australia and New Zealand. His prize is an all-expenses-paid trip to Germany, including a visit to the truck production plant in Worth and the Mercedes-Benz museum in Stuttgart. Iain Dorward, from Daimler Trucks Adelaide, finished a whisker behind Gillatt when the final points were tallied. The 32-year-old from Ireland completed his apprenticeship at a Mercedes-Benz dealership in England before moving to Australia in January 2014. Luckily for Dorward, Mercedes-Benz Truck made a last-minute announcement that the runner-up would also be going on the…

THE i98FM Illawarra Convoy is back for its 12th year on November 20. On September 6, i98FM Breakfast Show hosts and ambassadors of the event Marty Haynes and Fairlie Hamilton launched the convoy at Duren Transport in Port Kembla. They were joined by a number of members from the truck and motorbike community, along with representatives from founding beneficiary Camp Quality. This year’s convoy will depart under police escort from the Illawarra Coal’s West Cliff Colliery on Appin Road at around 8am on November 20 and follow a route that will take them down Mt Ousley through Warrawong and past Stockland Shellharbour, then onto Croome Road, Albion Park Rail. The action continues with the free Family Fun Day at the Croome Road Sporting Complex, when the registered motorbikes and trucks…

WE DOUBT the following scene would be allowed in Australia. More than a dozen loaded trucks coming and going from their parking point at a test track involving a steep hill, several sharp turns, and a couple of long straights on which you can get up a good head of steam. Drivers jumping out of one truck and racing over to the next, lots of laughs, and at least a couple of drivers who don’t even have truck licenses. No traffic lights, stop-go men or even fluoro vests to be seen. It was organised chaos at the impressive Volvo demonstration centre in Gothenburg on the west coast of Sweden, with only two rules: no reversing, no overtaking. There wasn’t even the slightest hint of anything going wrong, but can you…

HERE’S AN interesting and surprising fact revealed at the launch of Iveco’s new Daily 4x4 range: Australia represents around 20 per cent of the world market for Daily 4x4 models. Given the huge extent of Iveco’s interests in regions like the Middle East, Eastern Europe and throughout Africa, where off-road capability is largely essential, it’s a statement that took a while to sink in. It was, however, Iveco Australia’s amiable product chief Marco Quaranta who pressed home the critical influence of this rejuvenated off-road specialist on Iveco’s business in our part of the world. “We are a heavyweight in the [off-road] market for Iveco,” he said emphatically. “Iveco listens to what we want.” Yet Quaranta wasn’t just referring to the newly updated Daily 4x4. As he succinctly put it, off-road…

AS EVERYBODY knows, Swedish truck brands Volvo and Scania are two of the biggest and best in the world. So you might think Swedish truck stops are packed with all the latest healthy food options and gleaming facilities for drivers. But judging by our sample of one, this isn’t necessarily the case. And there wasn’t an American or Japanese truck to be seen either. Owner//Driver took some time out during a recent trip to Sweden with Volvo to visit the nearest truck stop to the centre of the western port city of Gothenburg, Volvo’s global HQ. It was about half an hour’s bus ride north towards neighbouring Norway, in a mostly industrial and commercial area. This small truck stop with a largish parking area didn’t even have a shower, but…

“NATROAD WILL ALWAYS STAND UP FOR ITS MEMBERS” NATROAD SAYS it will continue to back its exemption application to have its members officially excluded from existing and subsequent changes to the provisions of the NSW General Carriers Contract Determination (GCCD) despite industry criticism. The Australian Road Transport Industrial Organisation (ARTIO) NSW branch has been repeatedly arguing against the validity of NatRoad’s application, which has received opposition from various corners of the industry. Having submitted evidence to the NSW Industrial Relations Commission (IRC) to back its claim against NatRoad’s approach, ARTIO NSW went on to raise doubts whether “unregistered” organisations such as NatRoad have the right to be heard by the Commission in the first place. “Parties, including ARTIO NSW and NatRoad put their positions to the Commission on September 2…

WESTERN AUSTRALIA’S fickle spring weather was initially reasonably kind as the old load luggers rolled into the Bunnings car park. Some were highway heroes of yesteryear, others more humble haulers. But, there was plenty of old iron on show. Forty-five trucks, big and small, rolled up. Some on trailers, others roared into town with Jake brakes blaring. Model Ts and Chevs from the 1920s were on hand, as well as the usual smattering of classic American iron from the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s. FARGO KEW Des Curtis had an eye-catching 1952 Fargo Kew on display. The UK-built Fargo uses a side-valve six-cylinder to make about 35hp and will take a payload of 2.5 tonne. Des opted to paint the old-timer in Western Australian Forestry Dept colours as these trucks saw…

“The mattress in the bunk looked like a crime scene after the body has been removed” OKAY, SO this is probably more of a company driver thing than an owner-driver thing. If you own the truck, you most likely drove it — or one like it — before you forked out cold hard cash for some working wheels. And if you bought a piece of junk, well, buyers beware. But as an employee driver, you can periodically find yourself having to drive another truck against your will due to a breakdown, or just because you just pissed off the boss. I’ve had this happen on quite a few occasions, and when I look back, there were a couple of memorable experiences. You see, I’m quite truck proud, so while the…

 LIKE EVERY state in Australia, Tasmania needs road repairs, and that provides constant work for those such as Peter Hackett, who delivers hot mix to the road crews and supplies to the asphalt plant. “Some get a bit cranky, while others just wave and smile” Peter has been driving trucks for over 40 years and has been in the bitumen industry for 33 of those. “It’s a good job and I enjoy it,” Peter says while catching up with Owner// Driver at the Caltex Truck Stop at Epping Forest for a coffee on his way home. “You meet a lot of people. “People are funny when they come across us. We do disrupt their day as they do need to slow down, stop and wait — you see their mannerisms…

UK’s Goods Vehicles (Licensing of Operators) Act 1995 mandates that any person operating a goods vehicle that is more than 3.5 tonnes in weight and is being used to carry goods as part of a trade or business must have a valid goods vehicle operator’s licence. LICENCE The licence can be applied for in the name of the person, company or partnership that operates/manages the vehicle. It includes: • the operator’s name • the type of licence • the maximum number of vehicles they can operate under it • the number of vehicles/trailers that have been authorised • any conditions attached to the licence • any undertakings that are relevant to the granting of the licence. Under the continuous licensing system, once granted, the licence is valid for life unless there is an operational breach resulting…

THIS YEAR’S Deniliquin Truck Show and Industry Expo, only the second running of the event, saw a significant rise in trucks turn up with local owners, operators and drivers arriving to support the event. Deniliquin is in the middle of a productive agricultural area which relies on the transport industry. This year’s event, held on September 10, took place on the banks of the Edward River. The previous night, with close on 200 people attending a dinner, saw the first two inductees onto the Deni Wall of Fame. Fourteen people were nominated — David ‘Sherbie’ Grimison, along with Alan and Kate Murphy, were inducted. Sadly, Kate passed away in March. Deni Truck Show committee president John Creenaune says three independent judges selected the inductees: “Everyone was worthy of winning and…

IT’S EASY to get a sense of economic doom and gloom if you watch, read and listen to mainstream media too much. But here are some of the latest business facts in Australia at the time of writing. Gross domestic product is growing at a healthy clip of more than three per cent a year, and we haven’t had a recession in Australia for more than a quarter of a century. The latest company profit results are regarded as good on the whole, while interest rates and inflation are still incredibly low. And, of course, the forecasts for bumper growth in the freight task keep on coming. The latest is for a 26 per cent increase over the next decade, from no less a body than the National Transport Commission.…

Former 500cc Grand Prix motorcycle ace and Australian champion Daryl Beattie made a guest appearance at the launch of the new Daily 4x4 and was more than happy to voice the virtues of the Eurocargo 4x4 truck he uses for a highly specialised outback adventure business. Starting ‘Daryl Beattie Adventures’ in 2013, he leads personalised off-road motorcycle tours to some of Australia’s most remote locations, including crossings of the Simpson Desert, to Cape York, and along the Canning Stock Route. The ‘mother ship’ for all the tours is the Eurocargo 4x4 carrying all food and water, fuel, first aid equipment and everything imaginable for extensive travel through remote regions. He makes no secret of the fact that Eurocargo’s winning performance in the Dakar Rally was a significant factor in the…

FUSO REVEALED the third generation of the world’s first all-electric light-duty truck at the IAA Commercial Vehicles show in Hannover, Germany last month, and promptly announced that it will be arriving in Australia next year. An enhanced version of the Fuso Canter E-Cell electric truck that has undertaken real-world trials in Portugal and Germany, the eCanter features an upgraded drive system and a new design. Fuso Truck and Bus director Justin Whitford confirmed the eCanter will be involved in a trial with key customer fleets next year. This will be a key component in the Fuso product range expansion plan and will be joined in-market by a number of new products under full test environment. “We are excited to be able to conduct a local trial with the groundbreaking all-electric…

“THEY REPRESENT COMPANIES WHICH RIP DRIVERS OFF” THE TRANSPORT Workers Union (TWU) has launched a petition with an aim to urge the New South Wales Government to make a 30-day payment rule mandatory for transport operators across the state. The petition comes ahead of the NSW Industrial Relations Commission (IRC) hearing in relation to the proposed rate-related changes to the NSW General Carriers Contract Determination (GCCD). TWU’s proposal to vary the rules set out in the determination included a phased introduction of the suggested mandatory hourly and kilometre rates for relevant contracts of carriers within NSW. The proposal also included varying the scope of obligations for principal contractors and geographical area of application of GCCD rules — a proposal approved by the Commission in June. The union says its current…

THE NEW medical standards developed by the National Transport Commission (NTC) and Austroads will improve safety and reduce costs, Australian Trucking Association (ATA) CEO Chris Melham says. The new standards will give medical professionals the best available information to help them assess the driving ability of their patients. The new version, Assessing Fitness to Drive for commercial and private vehicle drivers, came into force on October 1. “The ATA has argued for many years that the approach to sleep apnoea in the medical standards is flawed,” Melham says. “Drivers are asked to self-report their level of sleepiness using a questionnaire, which then is used to calculate their risk of sleep apnoea. “But we know that questionnaires are extremely subjective and underestimate the number of drivers who are at risk. “An…

“You could have a go at reversing a double road train for 30 bucks” IT TURNS out that I’m not as good as I once thought I was. The first ever BP Show and Shine held at the Perth Motorplex in WA had plenty on offer for those who wanted to look at shiny and not so shiny trucks, both old and new. And, as there was a tarp tying competition, I figured I had to put the camera down and give it a go. I got my butt kicked by a big fella from Wise Haulage. You had to tie seven tarp ropes in a minute and a half. I fumbled my way through five before the buzzer sounded. I therefore decided that the competition was stupid and…

AN OPERATOR licensing scheme is an effective tool to ensure industry players are professionally competent to maintain high standards of safety while upholding a fair yet competitive environment for all, one of the United Kingdom’s most senior freight industry professionals says. Speaking at the Australian Logistics Council’s (ALC’s) annual Supply Chain Safety & Compliance Summit in Melbourne this year, UK Freight Transport Association (FTA) deputy chief executive James Hookham outlined how the licensing scheme has worked in the UK and how Australia can use its example to set up a similar licensing system. Owner//Driver interviewed Hookham to discuss the issue in more detail. An operator’s licence is the legal permit required to operate a heavy vehicle to transport goods over three and a half tonnes anywhere in the UK. The…

RAY GRIMA loves being on the Hume Freeway at night. “You’re out there mixing with all the interstaters and there’s a pack of 10,” he says. “We’re all jousting and trying to get around each other. I just love the adrenaline — just keeping up and overtaking other trucks and listening to the chat on the CB.” Ray lives in Kyabram and drives a Cat-powered Freightliner Argosy to Melbourne for Scott’s Transport. He says the Hume still has an old-school vibe at night. “I’m up at midnight and I leave at about one o’clock in the morning. “I’m normally back by nine o’clock. It’s a good job.” It leaves him with plenty of time to spend with his family and pursue his hobbies. Ray, who turns 50 this month, is…

IT’S 8AM at Mooroopna, Victoria, and Wendy Friedberg is behind the wheel of GJH Management’s 2003 Kenworth 404ST. She’s on her way to Shepparton East — the first of three Goulburn Valley dairy farms she will visit to fill the single stainless steel tanker. Wendy drove her first light rigid six years ago and was behind the wheel of B-doubles interstate before beginning her new job with GJH Management in late August. She grew up on a dairy farm, so it hasn’t taken her long to adjust to milk cartage. “I love having a quick chat to all the farmers,” Wendy says. She likes the farm dogs too. Wendy is a Kenworth lover and dresses the part — right down to the Kenworth earrings she received from husband Larry Friedberg…

IT WAS A Sunday morning when Owner//Driver caught up with Brendon Penn. He was readying his machinery for the week ahead with the help of his Kenworth T650. Later that afternoon, it was hooked up as a pocket road train. The versatile second-hand prime mover is one of the two crane support trucks owned by Brendon Penn Crane Hire — the other is an 8x4 Volvo prime mover. While they both fill a variety of roles, their main job is to accompany the crane fleet when they head out, carrying the counterweights. “It doesn’t look like she has got much weight on but she’s fully-loaded with 54 tonne,” Brendon says of the Kenworth, which was ready to travel with a 220-tonne crane the next day. “The task tomorrow only requires…

IT IS unfair, inaccurate and no doubt cynical, but the occasional inference that light and medium-duty Japanese trucks are little more than the automotive equivalents of a fridge or washing machine is, well, probably easy to understand. For starters, they’re all cab-over and almost always just plain white, so immediate distinction of one brand from the other is, to say the least, limited. On top of that, and unlike their heavy-duty counterparts, emotion rarely comes into the buying equation of light and medium-duty trucks. Like any fridge or washer, they’re a tool bought to do a job. Nothing more, nothing less, and while ever they keep doing that job, they’ll generally keep the customer satisfied. However, the day my wife can’t get the service bloke to fix the spin cycle…

Hino is claiming a local first with its 300 Series, announcing the light-duty truck range is the first of its kind to offer a reverse camera as standard equipment. Fitting the ADR-compliant, waterproof, and high-definition cameras into its range, Hino Australia manager of product strategy Daniel Petrovski says the truck maker is “meeting the demands of our customers and the needs of Australian light-duty truck buyers”. “Our light-duty trucks are already equipped with cruise control, dual SRS airbags, ultra-narrow A-pillars, ABS brakes and vehicle stability control,” he says. “Reverse cameras are a logical addition to the standard safety specification.” Offering a live video feed to the truck’s 6.1-inch touchscreen multimedia unit, the camera aids the driver in reversing safely both on the road and in the depot. The drivers will…

IVECO HAS thrown its hat into the sustainable heavy-duty truck ring with the launch of its natural gas-powered Z Truck concept at the IAA Commercial Vehicle Show in Hannover, Germany. Like many of its ilk being launched in recent times, the Iveco Z Truck features automated driving technology, an aerodynamic design, and a waste heat recovery system. However, while some manufacturers have chosen the electric route, Iveco has fitted its concept with a powertrain fuelled by liquefied natural gas (LNG) technology and the use of bio-methane. When pumped into Iveco’s new LNG engine, the fuel helps the Z Truck develop 460hp and 2000Nm of torque over a 2200km range. Stored in “conformable tanks”, Iveco says the bio-LNG fuel is derived from refined biogas and “ensures low CO2 and ultra-low PM…