Goodaye all, got home Friday with a plan to have work started on the truck, some suspension, cab and engine bushes found during service last week need replacing and hoped to get a start then, but other trucks got in first, so did some curtain strap replacements, searched and found and cleaned a mudflap to replace a missing one, found a mudflap bracket and messed around before home.
Having a problem with downloaded audio books, so rang the library on the way home and have a plan to try and sort that, then made a plan to have a week-end off, sort of. Wrote a piece for two truckstop sites, photos and commented on good showers and meals at Fisher Park, (highly recommend rissoles and gravy and salad and chips) then other sites with clean showers etc, did emails, answered friend requests, many mentioning spot on Nightshift, sent videos (with help from youngest son) to ABC, completed a draft for my AFM application, did audiobooks for the road piece, wrote a draft for NRFA on getting roads and rest areas fixed in the future, responded to Vicroads, sent a list to Kenworth for improvements, then spent near two hours on the phone this morning for a NRFA board meeting, did shopping for work, so did not touch truck, but sort off time off driving at least and now have plan for truck to be finished Tuesday, then back to work. Probably missed some other advocacy bits in there somewhere. Glad I had a break from it all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Then following board meeting read a long piece on driver health and issues etc. The most dangerous industry in Australia, 13 times more likely to be killed and injured, highest rate of suicide, at risk of many chronic health conditions due to the factors involved in the job, it just goes on and on with the bad news.
On the good side and in an attempt to improve things, my friend and colleague, Mr Stephen McCarthy from Whiteline Television, released the first three in a series of videos, “Road Life” relating to improving driver health and they got good comments and I hope they are well received and help some of us with some of the issues we all face. There are more to come and I would welcome your views and you sharing them with others.
Monday, list completed for truck and trailers, delivered truck and wait for news. Hoping to get much of it done, news I will be loading in the morning, maybe back to the yard for some more little bits. I have greaseless turntables and so if I have to use another truck, it can take me an hour to clean the skidplate from underneath with diesel, so don’t do it unless absolutely necessary. Had a brake fault light come up on the way home Friday, a subsystem issue, not the actual brakes and got a call late this afternoon saying they have found the problem, a loose plug for the EBS, so hopefully all sorted now.
Tried to sort a problem with downloaded books on my USB drive, got frustrated and don’t think I have sorted it yet, but we will keep on trying. Off to Melbourne tomorrow, hopefully into town late enough to do my spot on Nightshift with Luke and then to bed. Safe Travelling, Rod Hannifey.
TRUCKRIGHT 