The Transport Workers Union has criticized Australia’s slow-moving bureaucrats saying the number of deaths due to truck crashes was rising while the industry waited for reforms aimed at improving safety.

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TWU national secretary, Tony Sheldon, said that statistics showed that more than 431 people had been killed in the 18 months since the National Transport Commissions’ (NTC) landmark report was handed down calling for changes across the industry.*

“The Transport Workers Union, responsible trucking companies and the federal government are coming to an agreement on what a safe and fair payment system for the transport industry should look like – it is time for the departments to act, Mr Sheldon said.

“This week marks the 18-month anniversary of the NTC report being handed to government, and hundreds of people have been killed in our industry in that time. Drivers are frustrated and we want to see real change now before more are killed and thousands more injured.

“Truck drivers should not be forced by client economic pressure to work unsafe hours or drive to unsafe driving plans in order to make a living. We need a system of payments where employee and owner drivers, short and long-hail drivers can fair and safe rates, receive full cost recovery, including paid waiting times and rising fuel costs,” Mr Sheldon said.
 
*The NTC prepared the report with the assistance of transport safety expert Professor Michael Quinlan and Lance Wright QC, the former president of the NSW Industrial Relations Commission.

The report concluded that the effect of commercial practices on road safety for heavy vehicle drivers and the community was significant. It found:

1.    In Australasia, the road transport industry accounts for the highest number of work-related fatalities in any given year and being truck driver is ranked in the top six most dangerous occupations.

2.    In Australia, there has been no significant shift in the annual number of fatalities resulting from crashes involving articulated trucks between the early 1990s and 2007 despite an overall decline in the annual road toll.

3.    The risks affect other road users. In 2007, 235 people died in incidents involving articulated and heavy rigid trucks. A far larger number suffered serious injury.

The Quinlan/Wright report concluded that:

‘Economic factors create an incentive for truck drivers to drive fast, work long hours and use illicit substances to stay awake. These economic factors include:

•    low rates of pay;
•    incentive based payment methods (such as per kilometre or per trip);
•    unpaid working time;
•    Other factors include the hyper-competitive nature of the industry and the low bargaining power faced by drivers.’