Goodaye all. It is good to be home and visit the family and the dogs didn’t bite me, thank goodness.
But as a mate said when passing me on the way home on Friday, no rest for the wicked. Got some work done on the truck and trailers Friday afternoon, damn puncture from Adelaide leaked again, had to remove and fix not one, but both patches, bad enough doing it once, but lucky I have the Central Tyre Inflation (CTI) system to get me home.
Still more to do, but others wanted to go home, what is it with people? Hoped to get some more done Monday, but a call this morning, means an earlier loading time and have to reset my floors first, so much earlier start and maybe after loading, get a few more small jobs done and then off to Brissie again.
I have just finished reading the Austroads Guidelines for Heavy Vehicle Rest Areas, all 58 pages and it is terrific to have new and better guidelines. I contributed to the old ones before 2005 when they were released and that was a fight at times, not just with the authorities. I wrote, not emailed, 6 pages and was told, “No one else raised these things”, but in the end, there was only one diagram and it seems, many only looked at that and did not read the document, hence too many herringbone parking bays that provide no shade, no separation and are difficult to get in and out of, let alone you can’t open your bunk door for fear of getting it torn off, let alone the noise issue.
One of my passengers in the TRUCKRIGHT Industry Vehicle was Mr Paul Retter AM, CEO of the National Transport Commission and one of the things I asked him for on that trip was to update the rest area guidelines and whilst it has taken a while, it is completed and I thank him for getting this started.
The only problem is, the new guidelines, will not in themselves, see any more rest areas built. That is the responsibility of the road agencies and thus far, we have been falling behind. So, in two weeks I will have a new document to put out seeking that to change and would welcome any thoughts and suggestions to see that materialise.
So as not to get thrown out of home after so short a stay thus far and having more to follow up and complete tomorrow to keep the TIV and I relevant and up to date, I will wish you all a good night. Safe Travelling, Rod Hannifey.
TRUCKRIGHT 