Goodaye and a TRUCKING Good New Year to you all for 2021. I got a few days off over Christmas and now a few over New year, but back on the road again, this afternoon. I hope each of you had time with those you love and or at least, time to recover from the year that was.
Some have been badly affected and we thought the worst was over, but here we are with border closures again. Let us hope after the first debacle with over 4 hours delay for trucks, seeing many out of hours and left with nowhere to go but sit in the que, that this will not happen again. It is not as though it has never happened before, yet why did it go so wrong? Who will be held responsible for simply bad traffic management? I fear it is simply a case of it doesn’t affect me, so it is not a problem.
No wonder we are a cynical and cranky bunch of people who feel we are treated as second or less, class people. We can’t get enough rest areas, toilets or shade so we can safely manage our fatigue, we can’t get the flexibility to do so, we are told by all these others to be safe and don’t break the law, yet we are not given the tools to do so.
I do hope both the HVNL review and the Senate inquiry into a Safe and Viable Road Transport industry will achieve some improvements, but unless we push, nothing will change. It is still sad that only 60 odd drivers, out of 200,000 plus, made the effort to contribute to the HVNL review. Many will sit and whinge about how we are treated and those groups and associations who do their best to see things change, can only do so much and without members, they too will get little done.
Those who tell us how to do our job, don’t live on the road, don’t have or even understand our problems and unfortunately even fewer care, it is simply not their problem! But they all want to eat, have clothes, fuel and parts for their cars etc and until we have a voice and those others recognise what we give up in our lives to make their better and more comfortable, we will struggle to get change.
Enough on the soapbox. I am still working on my list of issues from the Mt Isa trips, pushing for the next TIV and hoping to keep you interested and informed. How many of you read the trucking press now? What do they do right for you, what do you want from them and have you ever written and or contacted a trucking industry press to help them help you? Don’t just say, it is still the same as years ago, we need more involved, even if the only thing you do is one thing, that will help. What do you want from me, what can I do better? Give it some thought. Till next week, Safe Travelling, Rod Hannifey.
TRUCKRIGHT 