The Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Trucking Association, Christopher Melham, today issued a formal statement correcting the misinformation of the Transport Workers Union regarding ATA’s position on speed enforcement and grounding of heavy vehicles, and safety generally.
Mr Melham also expressed serious concerns that the TWU media release: “TWU: Employer Groups Create a Smokescreen for Unsafe Roads”, dated 5 July 2016, could be construed as the TWU defending rogue operators that tamper with their speed limiters.
Mr Melham has confirmed that the ATA’s submission to the National Transport Commission (NTC) on its speed enforcement discussion paper included the following recommendations:
- The NTC should not proceed with its proposal for a power to immediately ground heavy vehicles travelling 15 km/h or more over posted or default speed limits (for example, a vehicle travelling at 78km/hr in a 60km/hr zone); but
- The NTC should proceed with the ATA proposal to support the grounding of heavy vehicles for speeding offences of 15 km/h and above the open road 100 km/h limit when the detected speeding occurs on a flat road.
“The ATA has a longstanding position to support the grounding of trucks for speeding offences of more than 115km/h on an open, flat road and as such we support the NTC in this proposal,” Mr Melham said.
“The ATA submission makes it clear that the industry does not support a proposal for the grounding of trucks found to be speeding by more than 15km/h over posted speed limits.
“The ATA is proud of its 25 year history and commitment to road safety and 2016 signifies the 20th Anniversary of TruckSafe, the most comprehensive heavy vehicle accreditation scheme in Australia.
“Safety is always the ATA’s first priority. The fatal crash rate for articulated trucks fell 80 per cent between 1982 and 2015,” he said.
While the Transport Workers Union (TWU) continue to criticise employer groups, ATA continues to represent the real interests of owner drivers and achieve genuine outcomes to protect their livelihoods.
Mr Melham corrected the TWU’s claim that the ATA had been conspicuous in its silence about unrealistic deadlines and pressures on truck drivers.
“As a result of lobbying by the ATA, governments have agreed to dramatic reforms to Australia’s road transport laws. This includes a general safety duty on all parties, including the industry’s customers, a massive increase in penalties, and an increase in investigative powers against businesses whose decisions affect road safety.
“These reforms, which capture consignors and consignees, are currently being implemented in the national chain of responsibility legislation,” he said.
