Four-year plan for improved safety in transport industry unveiled…
The Australian Trucking Association (ATA) has described heavy vehicle driver training as the biggest issue facing the transport and logistics industry.
In submitting its four-year plan to Australian Industry Standards, the ATA chair, Noelene Watson, said ensuring drivers are properly equipped with the right skills is the top priority.
The submission, a response to the Transport and Logistics IRC Skills Forecast Key Findings Discussion Paper 2017, calls for stricter and more uniform training standards.
“Improving the consistency and quality of the training and assessment of truck drivers is a critical skills issue that must be addressed,” Mrs Watson said.
“Whilst there are many excellent trainers, others train to a price and can be more focused on how long a course will take, and not on the level of competency attained.
“The ATA has raised this previously as a key skills issue, but the AIS discussion paper makes no mention of safety or driver training as key issues.”
While Mrs Watson says the drivers of light vehicles should also be included in tougher training standards.
“Road safety statistics show that a large number of accidents between trucks and light vehicles are due to mistakes by the light vehicle driver,”
“But despite these statistics, educating light vehicle drivers about how to share the road safely with trucks has only received sporadic policy attention.
“There must be a review of light vehicle driver training standards and competencies to improve road safety for everyone, by including awareness of sharing the road safely with heavy vehicles.”
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