Archive for the ‘Truckie Letters’ Category

The Australian government has been in New Zealand offering promises of good pay and conditions to encourage truck drivers to leave NZ and find work in Australia…. fact!  My informants tell me our government lied to them!

The problem is one of our fellow NZ company drivers could not even connect their prime mover to the trailer, or as we say “hook up”.  Now this person drives regulary on our highways and has failed a manatory Qld licensing requirement to be able to drop the tailer and hook up again.

Another issue we professional drivers have trouble with licensing for B Doubles is that drivers can be progressed directly from a HR license which is a non articulating vehicle of generally less than 22.5T GVM - a light year away from a B Doubles weight and skill requirements.

There is no way that a person with this license level should be allowed to jump into a B Double without Holding a HC license ( basic semi trailer) for at least 2 years. 62.5 tonne of truck is a lot different to stop and drive, particularly on the Pacific Highway…. and especially through the St Helena and Ballina stretches of road.
Trevor

My problem as a truck driver are government regulations. 10 years ago I had a boss who gave me 12 hours to get to Sydney from Brisbane.  My boss now allows me 16 hours which is easily done and no stress and allows for slower traffic.  HOWEVER NOW I have the government telling me I have 12 hours total driving and work time to get to Sydney.

My home base is 1050kms from Sydney, plus the regulated 30 mins rest each 5 hrs, plus fueling and unloading time.  Adding this up means my truck must travel at the electronically limited speed of 103 kph for the entire run to Sydney.  If I fail to reach Sydney within these 12 hours, I get fined $300 per hr PLUS 3 points. As of September 29, that fine increases to $1000 per 15 mins.

This means all your good work is being undermined by regulations which are forcing drivers to maintain maximum speed and get aggressive with slow traffic.  Additionally drivers are now being forced to drive tired as dictated by regulation. eg. my logbook told me I could not drive until 2.30 am (after a 24 hr break) this would have demanded I drive at the dangerous hours which the government is trying to avoid. So to reach my mid point, I broke regulations (I was well rested) and drove at 10.30pm and stopped at midnight, thus allowing my next leg to be completed within 12hrs.

Another aspect that drivers face, is being forced to sit on the side of the highway for 12 hours before driving 30mins or 1 hr home. A driver may only be 1 hour from home and if he has already driven 12 hrs, and then he is forced to sit on the side of the highway for another 12 hrs before going home to see his family.  This also adds to the aggressive driving by truck drivers to get the job done in time so they can get home within the regulated driving time.

Having said all that, I agree there are genuine idiots behind the steering wheel and these need to be pulled into line.  I believe the professional drivers are doing this themselves.

Trevor

Hi coast watch ……  as a semi driver and have been for many yrs, I have seen it get very bad in the last 5yrs - not only truckies but car drivers to.  When you update your site next you may look at a praise section for good drivers on the road - you know the type of things I am talking about ie staying left to let the last vehicle pass when lanes end there are a lot of good driver out and the few that make it look bad.

I run round sydney all day now and can tell you should see what they get up to cars and trucks.  Any way  good on you.  Looks like this is a good thing for everyone.  If it saves one life you’ve done well
Regards Bill

Ive got nothing more to say than another pathectic publicity stunt by that ugly women who runs this site your pathetic…PUBLISH THIS LETTER ON YOUR SITE and get a life and join RSVP or ADULT MATCH MAKER or sumthing like that and leave us professional drivers alone…

Carl

In the previous module I wrote about basic vehicular systems.  Through this understanding of how each system works on a basic level, we can achieve a greater understanding as to how to use that system more effectively, efficiently and also understand how to greatly reduce stresses on that system which in the long run will cost us money.

Thiis week I thought I would integrate some OH&S training.  But what exactly has OH&S got to do with road safety you ask?  Well in my opinion quite a lot.  When you travel down the road you have the basic understanding that the lines on the road are how you know what side of the road you’re on.  And you’d be right.  But consider this, a walkway that consists of painted lines on the concrete?  Those in factories will know exactly what I’m talking about.  These walkways are the safest route around such areas that require some degree of separation between motorised traffic i.e. forklifts, and pedestrian traffic.

This module aims to give people the training in order to define hazards, risks, etc.  The reason this needs to addressed is simple.  In my edition that I wrote about Marty McLachlan, he told me of a fatal accident involving a truck.  This truck driver wasn’t on drugs.  He wasn’t tired, nor was he doing anything wrong, probably except not wearing a seat belt. 

The cause of this accident?  A branch/small tree had fallen across the road.  Who reported it?  No one and unfortunately this limb ripped the front axle clean out of the truck resulting in the driver losing any chance he had of controlling that vehicle.  So we need to understand that it’s all of responsibility to report hazards, no matter the risk. 

However, in order to report the hazard people need to be educated as to the definition of the risk, hence the requirement for some OH&S training.  The other problems this module aims to address is also those that decide to stop on the side of the road whilst leaving half of their vehicle touching the fog line on the left hand side to talk on the mobile phone when the nearest rest area is only 1km in front of them.

We have all encountered the above behavior, which is why this module is requiring every person to undertake 2 courses.  The first:  The transport industry’s blue card OH&S course, and also a minimum level 2 first aid course.  The reason for incorporating this first aid course is so that EVERYBODY can assist the emergency services in the unfortunate situation that they come across an accident.  It’s quite well reported and any ambo will tell you, the first 10 minutes are critical.  So those that are first on scene aren’t always the ambos.

There will be a theory test at the end of this module based on the Blue card accreditation.  Simply as a refreshment of the information learned.

Until next time folks with Module 3.

Chris Cartwright
National Finalist Young Australian Truck Driver Competition 2007

I too am a driver (of over 40 years experience) and treat many of the “reports ” on this site with a grain of salt. Having said that, on my regular runs between Brisbane and Bundaberg I witness enough examples of unacceptable truck driver behaviour to be forced to accept that all is far from well.

Too many trucks have inoperative speed limiters and too many drivers exhibit breath taking arrogance in both their driving and their foul mouthed rantings on the UHF.

There is a worrying trend of drivers jumping straight from HR (Heavy Rigid)  to MC (B Double) licences either by a short course or, even worse, by the falsification of records documenting a non existent period spent under instruction.

This would be bad enough if these drivers accepted their own inexperience and drove with some restraint but this seems to rarely be the case. These people are very much in the minority but there’s still enough of them to make it increasingly scary out there.
Mick

Hi everybody I’m back.  Did ya miss me?  I’ve had some computer problems and some other things that led me to stop writing but with the death of my best mate at Broady (Broadwater) a couple of weeks ago Robbie Thompson has re affirmed why I came to this site in the first place - to make a difference even if its a little one.

I have been running north doing b doubles and just recently a brief stint doing singles for FedEx Brisbane to Sydney. Since the death of my mate I decided to take a break from my beloved Pacific Highway and do some stuff up north for a while until I can come to terms with the needless death of not only Robbie but also Charlie as well - a well known identity on the Australian highways and an all round good bloke as well.

They will both be very dearly missed  …..

Well any way enough of the sad stuff.  To Dave and Scooter Lyndal and all you other guys a big hello.
Nitro

Details of Incident: 
        
On Sunday 24th August, I was traveling northbound on the M5 from Narellan towards Liverpool. I had my wife and 3 children (my 2 daughters plus my youngest daughter’s friend) in my vehicle. I was in the process of overtaking slower moving traffic, (I was doing approx 105 kph in the right lane) when I was flashed by a faster moving car behind me. That car was being tailgated very closely by a prime mover also flashing its lights.

I estimate that the prime mover would have been doing at least 110 to 115 kmh. The tailgated car found a space in the left lane and slowed, getting out of the way of the speeding prime mover. The prime mover then tailgated me so close, that I lost sight of his (near side) headlight. He then started flashing his lights at me. As there was a continual flow of traffic in the left lane, I couldn’t pull over to the left.

As we approached Brooks Rd, the 2 lanes widened into 3 lanes, which was good, because then he could overtake and not bother us. When he overtook me, he came so close that I fully expected, and even braced myself, for an impact. He didn’t connect.

When his rear drive tyres were level with my front bonnet, he pulled over on to me, causing me to brake violently. Not content with his actions, he pulled in front of me, and then applied his brakes hard, nearly causing me to run into his rear end. At this stage he was now moving very slowly, so I went to overtake him to get away from him.

As I was overtaking him, he swerved over onto me. He did this 3 times in quick succession, but never connecting. He was leaning out the window, yelling abuse, telling me to pull over, shaking his fists, swearing and carrying on like a lunatic and generally being very aggressive. (I would consider this road rage and using his vehicle as a weapon).

I asked my wife to call ooo. We asked for and received the police. We described the vehicle, (a white ‘Western Star’, bobtail, i.e.: no trailer,) and gave them the registration, (Federal number plates, NV46FN).

Here in lies a problem. I phoned the Liverpool Police station on the 28th Aug, to follow up the incident but they couldn’t find any reports. The policeman said that it would basically be a ‘Keep a watch out for this vehicle’ notice.

What I would like to know is who I contact now to either get someone to talk to this driver or get this driver off the road.

Just to clarify my position, I’m not ‘anti trucks’ or a ‘truck hater’; In fact, I’m a truck driver myself. I drive B-Doubles and single fuel tankers locally and intrastate.

Our Industry and the general public don’t need lunatics like this terrorising people and /or their families on our roads.  I hope something can be done.

Thank you for your support and your web site. As a truck driver, I urge any motorist, whether you are a motorcyclist, car driver or heavy vehicle operator, to contact this web site and/or the authorities and report any aggressive behaviour by truck drivers. We don’t need these cowboys on the road. Our industry suffers enough with bad publicity.

Steve

stay out of my way and i wont tailgate do the speed limit and keep left . do not pull out in front of me .  stop thinking i must get in front of that truck . when aproaching a trafic and you see a shorter line dont change lanes i have limited stopping and must not damage your goods that i am carring so braking is essential . when you go to your store and say i want it now think about how you are going to get it and who brings because you want it now . i do …. for 20 years i have seen so many crashes on roads caused by stupid motorists  who dont understand how hard it is to drive a truck and drive safley i have never been in an accident in my trucks and never caused one but have been ever so close  because of stupid people in cars who think they know the laws of the road well laws dont tell you how to avoide trucks thats common sence and you dont seem to have any . i lost my father to the road because of a silly motorist in a car . and also lost my brother struck by a truck so i have a bit of knowledge on this give us the respect we deserve
Peter

I offer my support of your site and people who report rogue truck drivers who give the rest of us professional drivers a bad name.

My suggestion that maybe you pay attention in gaining reports from north Queensland motorists thru the media about the seemingly lawless industry up that way - i.e. from the Sunshine Coast north to Mackay in particular.

May I provide a link to a site in the USA which sells devices to any truck driver from anywhere in the world to disable speed limiting devices on trucks.  This procedure cannot be detected by the RTA or Queensland tranpsort or any transport authority or manufacturers software computers.

It also disables any record of the speeds obtained on the trucks computer so authorities are powerless to act.

http://www.fastertruck.com/catalog.html

Dave