ATN #418

OPEN ROAD
In it together
Border consistency isn’t too much to ask
WARREN CLARK
is CEO of the
National Road
Transport
Association
(NatRoad)
Below:
Truck stops are
an essential
part of road
infrastructure
and deserve
investment
There was a small but important moment in the
pandemic when the health experts who determine
Australia’s fate acknowledged the importance of
the heavy vehicle industry.
It was in March 2020 and at the height of business
closures. The Australian Health Protection Principal
Committee recommended to the National Cabinet that it
exempt roadhouses, dedicated truck stop facilities and
truck driver lounges from having to shut.
Of course, National Cabinet gave the idea the green
light. It could hardly do otherwise: heavy vehicles were
keeping essential goods moving around the country;
truck deliveries were ensuring supermarket shelves
stayed stocked; they were making sure pharmacies had
adequate medicines on hand.
Keeping road facilities open was a recognition that
drivers need access to showers, restrooms and facilities
for their basic human needs as well as to undertake
mandated fatigue management breaks.
That moment, and the importance of dedicated rest
areas, was brought home to me when the Western
Australian government announced $14 million of
upgrades to regional truck stops.
These are essential parts of Australia’s road
infrastructure but just have not been given enough
attention in the past. The 14 locations were decided
after extensive consultation with the industry.
The funding is part of the federal government’s $40m
Freight Vehicle Productivity Improvements Program, with
another $36m earmarked for 2022–23.
We’re assured that the same level of industry
consultation will occur when that funding is made.
The program aims to improve efficiency and network
reliability, accessibility and connectivity of road networks
and road safety.
If only our leaders would apply the same degree of
common sense to the bewildering array of rules and
border passes that confront truckies when they cross
borders.
We’ve seen constant closures and openings –
sometimes at acutely short notice – and massive traffic
queues at checkpoints.
Operators have been on the road and far from their
depot when another set of rules has snapped into place,
prompting a scramble for a new electronic form on a
smartphone or access to a printer.
Too rarely have authorities seen fit to designate a
‘trucks only’ express lane or wave carriers through
checkpoints when they display a form on their
windshields.
So, here’s an idea: we may never persuade every state
to agree when the time is right to restrict border access
but why not get consensus for how it will occur?
Let’s have the same system of border permits with the
same declaration requirements, and administer it online
via the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator.
Think of the improvements to efficiency and network
reliability that sensible regulation would bring.
It’s not too much to ask on behalf of an essential
industry.
Drivers need access to showers, restrooms and
facilities for their basic human needs
26 ATN July 2021 FULLYLOADED.COM.AU