Wagga trucking industry members responds to Transport for NSW Western Sydney Heavy Vehicle Rest Area engagement report.

South Coast Register

Ron Crouch Transport managing director Geoff Crouch and driver Andrew Tuovi comment on Transport for NSW Western Sydney Heavy Vehicle Rest Area engagement report.

Transcript

00:00 Our industry has been calling for more truck stops for many, many years and this is a very

00:05 welcome initiative by the Minister in releasing this report which is going to address the

00:09 current shortage that we have.

00:10 Every day there are thousands of our nation's truck drivers going up and down the highway

00:14 delivering the goods that our communities so desperately depend upon in supermarkets

00:18 and everyday shops.

00:20 Having more rest stops is a critical part for the men and women of our industry to be

00:25 able to continue to do their jobs safely and efficiently.

00:28 Not having enough rest stops in close enough distance to each other makes it really hard

00:33 for drivers to manage their fatigue and having an additional rest stop in between Wai Ong

00:37 and Fenton's Nest is going to make a critical part for ensuring the safety of every member

00:42 of the road going community.

00:43 One of the really pleasing parts about this report was the focus on women and the role

00:48 that they play in our industry as truck drivers.

00:50 They play a very valuable role and for them to be able to go and have rest stops that

00:55 have adequate lighting, have suitable facilities and have showers is going to be a critical

01:00 part for their ongoing safety and amenities of the current truck drivers but also going

01:05 to enable the industry to attract more women drivers into it.

01:08 One of the key parts about this report was the input from over 800 truck drivers.

01:12 These are the men and women that are going out there about every single day delivering

01:16 the goods that our nation depends upon and their input would have been absolutely invaluable

01:20 to making sure that the truck stops that are being proposed will meet their actual needs.

01:26 As an interstate truck driver the aim of the game is relocating freight, working away from

01:30 home during the week so heading off to work on a Sunday night and returning home on a

01:35 Friday evening.

01:36 As an interstate driver and covering large distances there's various regulations and

01:43 things to consider as well as obviously your own personal fatigue levels it's very important

01:47 to take regular rest breaks to ensure the safety of yourself and other road users.

01:51 More frequent rest areas and places that are more easily accessible for larger vehicles

01:58 such as this one and particularly some more facilities in regards to say places to be

02:06 able to get a meal or to have a shower particularly now with more and more younger drivers and

02:13 female drivers entering the industry it's a definite attraction to a female driver for

02:18 example if there's facilities to be able to have a shower and have a proper meal as opposed

02:23 to just an area on the side of the road.

02:25 You've got to take into account the size of the vehicle as well so you need to be able

02:29 to get in and out easy enough as well as being able to park and yeah with a vehicle of this

02:34 size you've got to take into account the area that you're going to take into.

02:38 But it can be particularly coming into Sydney hard to find a place and anywhere that where

02:45 there is available space for a vehicle of this size if there's one or two there and

02:51 you're out of room you've sort of got no other options left.

02:54 Again depending on time of day but it tends to fill quite quickly particularly of an evening

02:57 you've got a lot of trucks that do move overnight freight and a lot that do drive throughout

03:02 the night but a vast majority of places delivering to businesses that are only open during the

03:06 day so you're looking for a place to take a rest of the night time.

03:09 It's fantastic to see him being proactive and being able to take on board advice from

03:14 the industry.

03:15 I believe that's very important particularly moving forward.

03:20 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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