22 August 2012

Won't anybody think of the truck drivers?

22 August 2012 | By johnboy

ACT Policing has added its support to the heavy vehicle industry during Truck Week, warning of the difficulties faced by truck drivers when there is a lack of consideration by other road users.

Truck Week runs until Friday, and is promoted by the Australian Trucking Association and Trucksafe as a mean of highlighting the common issues faced by heavy vehicle drivers across the country.

Traffic Operations Sergeant Rod Anderson said that slower-accelerating, slower-braking heavy vehicles sharing the road with smaller vehicles and cyclists created the potential compatibility issues, and that it was a collective responsibility for road users to be courteous and look out for each other.

“Driving a heavy truck, particularly in slow-moving traffic, is difficult enough. When other road users dangerously cut in front when the truck is braking for a traffic light, or a car races for the inside lane when a semi-trailer is attempting a sharp turn, there’s the potential for a serious collision,” Sergeant Anderson said.

“It’s all about being a safe and a more aware road user, regardless of what you drive or ride. People should be aware that trucks need longer distances to stop, and more room to turn. And they should always be aware that if you can’t see the truck’s side mirrors, the driver can’t see you.

“From a police perspective, we view heavy vehicle drivers as generally safe and law-abiding; as professional drivers, their livelihood depends on it.”

[Courtesy ACT Policing]

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blueterrestra2:40 pm 23 Aug 12

I agree with the point of view that we should be looking to shift as much freight back to rail as we can, but I don’t think that’s going to solve the issue of having trucks in urban areas. The freight has to get from the railway to the loading dock somehow, and a truck is the only cost effective means of doing that. For the foreseeable future at least, trucks are here to stay, including within suburbia. We may as well get used to it.

I don’t personally have too many issues with truckies. They’re remarkably cooperative on the road if you should them a little respect and consideration. As for those who speed, tailgate at high speed and/or drive whilst using their phones, the needs to be stiffer penalties and better enforcement to stamp out that crap, but that goes for all dickheads on the roads, not just truckies.

HenryBG12:18 pm 23 Aug 12

Jim Jones said :

HenryBG said :

The costs of constantly having to repair truck-damaged roads

Any evidence that trucks are doing disproportionate amounts of road damage?

Yes, plenty, and it’s basic, common-knowledge:

“Based on the findings of the American Association of State Highway Officials (AASHO) road test, damage caused by heavy trucks was long thought to increase with approximately the fourth power of the axle load. This means that one axle of 10 tons on a heavy truck was 160,000 times more damaging to a road surface than an axle of 0.5 tons (car scale).”

http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policy/091116/03.htm

“Engineering data shows
that a five-axle tractor-trailer loaded to the Federal
weight limits causes as much pavement damage as at least
9,600 automobiles.”

http://archive.gao.gov/f0302/109884.pdf

dpm12:11 pm 23 Aug 12

Jim Jones said :

HenryBG said :

The costs of constantly having to repair truck-damaged roads

Any evidence that trucks are doing disproportionate amounts of road damage?

This old doc indicates that (in the US) one 36 ton truck does the same amount of ‘road damage’ as 9,600 1.8 ton cars…
http://archive.gao.gov/f0302/109884.pdf

There’s probaby better studies out there, but i’m lazy!

Felix the Cat11:55 am 23 Aug 12

Even if we had a state of the art rail network the goods still need to get from the railyard to the shops. So a truck is needed for this. Very few shops in any city are built next to a rail line.

Jim Jones11:51 am 23 Aug 12

HenryBG said :

The costs of constantly having to repair truck-damaged roads

Any evidence that trucks are doing disproportionate amounts of road damage?

HenryBG11:40 am 23 Aug 12

helium said :

In Canberra damage is no doubt done by Trucks, that’s physics, but would suggest mainly from many dirt moving trucks (HEAVY). Also dont forget buses continually plying our roads.

Either way, it’s trucks that do virtually all the damage and it’s drivers of lighter vehicles who pay the bulk of the taxes collected to repair the roads.
That’s a subsidy.

helium said :

At the end of the day we both need and rely heavily on trucks so society is happy to subsidise.

Well, *I*’m not happy.
The costs of constantly having to repair truck-damaged roads should be paid by the owners of those trucks and passed on to the consumers of the goods supplied by those trucks.
This would massively reduce the cost of repairing roads, drastically reduce the road toll, encourage investment in rail, and be of great benefit to smaller, local producers of goods.
That’s a win/win/win/win.

dpm11:28 am 23 Aug 12

Jethro said :

I go back to my comment #3 B-Doubles are excessively long at 26m and metro streets were never designed to accommodate vehicles of that size.You and others might not have an issue with that but Lindsay Fox wants B-Triples(33.5m) on NSW highways and i wonder whether given that B-Doubles are now the norm we might possibly be seeing B-Triples on our roads sometime down the track…..

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/b-triple-trucks-are-on-their-way-to-sa/story-e6frea6u-1226381974655

http://www.canberratimes.com.au/national/road-monsters-set-for-nsw-20120225-1tvcb.html

http://www.ntc.gov.au/filemedia/bulletins/COAGBacksBTripleNetworkJul07.pdf

It’s funny, they’re starting to look very similar to another form of transport that uses rails….

Jethro10:15 am 23 Aug 12

I go back to my comment #3 B-Doubles are excessively long at 26m and metro streets were never designed to accommodate vehicles of that size.You and others might not have an issue with that but Lindsay Fox wants B-Triples(33.5m) on NSW highways and i wonder whether given that B-Doubles are now the norm we might possibly be seeing B-Triples on our roads sometime down the track.

Of course if the guvment was prepared to upgrade our rail network to enable greater and more efficient movement of freight thereby reducing the number of heavy vehicles from our highways i and most others would probably agree that that would be a sensible step in the right direction.

And I go back to your comment number 1:

bundah said :

Well if there weren’t so many B-Double monstrosities on Canberra roads there would be far fewer actual compatability issues that drivers would be confronted with.

I was merely pointing out that there aren’t ‘so many’. There are a very few driving to one or two industrial areas. Most Canberrans can drive on the roads in this city for a month without coming across one. When compared to other cities when you will encounter literally hundreds of B-Doubles in a single commute, the number of B-Doubles on our roads is miniscule.

Remember, one B Double equals two smaller trucks. The stock needs to be moved anyhow, B-Doubles do it more efficiently.

qbngeek9:29 am 23 Aug 12

MelonHead said :

bundah said :

Potential compatability issues? Well if there weren’t so many B-Double monstrosities on Canberra roads there would be far fewer actual compatability issues that drivers would be confronted with.

Therein lies the problem. How dare some poor bugger trying to earn a living get in the way of “me”? “I” am so important that I need get to the next red light before that stupid truck. What’s that sign on the back of the truck? “DO NOT OVERTAKE TURNING VEHICLE” This can’t apply for to me, surely not? How many times do I need to tell you how important me and my SUV really are? Just get out of my way.

Also, isn’t it great how you can all sorts of beer and wine at the shops, and out of season fruit and veg? I just love living in Canberra…mmm…. how did that stuff get on the shelves? Who knows?

DISCLAIMER: I am not affiliated with any transport company, just an observer of the everyday mayhem that is Canberra’s own fiercely fought selfishness competition, otherwise known as commuting by road.

However you could ship all that stuff by rail to central depots all over the nation and use smaller trucks to get it the last little distance to its destination. Alternatively you could grow and eat your own in season vege and fruit; home brew wine, beer and cider; and buy anything else you need from locals.

Of course it would never happen as there are too many people involved in trucking who stand to lose money if the railways are rebuilt.

bundah9:25 am 23 Aug 12

Jim Jones said :

ACT Police: “Please be nice to truck drivers. It’s hard to drive a truck.”

RiotAct: “These are my roads, you shouldn’t be on them. Truckies are all terrible drivers and terrible people. Also they don’t pay enough tax.”

You’re incorrigible Mr Jones. May i suggest “Truckies are all terrible drivers and terrible people who should all be put to death”

bundah9:00 am 23 Aug 12

Jethro said :

bundah said :

Jethro said :

bundah said :

Intel70 said :

bundah said :

Potential compatability issues? Well if there weren’t so many B-Double monstrosities on Canberra roads there would be far fewer actual compatability issues that drivers would be confronted with.

“B double monstrosity in Canberra”

FTFY.

But yes, all of the B double truck I encounter once a month on Canberra roads really gets my feathers up.

You need to get out more.You’ve obviously been confined in your coop for far too long.

I would suggest you need to get out more and try driving in another city. Perhaps peak hour along the Ipswich Motorway in Brisbane will give you a taste of what driving on a road heavy with B-Doubles is like. The number of B-Doubles on Canberra’s roads is miniscule.

I reckon 3.5 MILLION kms on the roads is probably a fair bit more than you or most people have amassed so i reckon i’m reasonably qualified to impart my experiences re driving.In recent years my base is Fyshwick and guess where all the B-Doubles converge.One of my chagrins was observing countless of the farkers turning left into Ipswich St from Canberra Ave during the bridgeworks which was illegal for obvious reasons.They would take up the whole road and inconvenience everyone around them just so they could arrogantly turn left even though there were signs along that stretch indicating no left turn for heavy vehicles.Of course there was never a cop around mainly due to the fact that high visibility policing is pretty much nonexistent!

Wow… heavy vehicles going to an industrial area. If drivers are breaking the law that is a separate issue.

helium12:43 am 23 Aug 12

RadioVK said :

HenryBG said :

I’ve got an idea – as soon as the owners and operators of these heavy vehicles start paying their fair share of registration costs (considering their operations are what cause about 98% of the wear and tear on our roads), THEN maybe I’ll worry about poor old truck drivers.

Currently we subsidise businesses that run heavy vehicles more than we subsidise any other business, thanks to years of blackmail and threats from the TWU.

Most of this freight should be on the railways, and heavy vehicle rego should be upped by a factor of about 100x.

What are they? A bunch of commies, wanting to live off government subsidy?

Tell me, do you actually know how much it costs to register a heavy vehicle? Or how much fuel they burn on a daily basis, and therefore, how much money in taxes they contribute to the public purse?

Commies? Generally the reddest thing on a truckie is the neck…

Truck registation is ‘relatively’ cheap considering weight and KM done.

Station Wagon $454 + $569 CTP
Small Truck $542 – $1,021
Truck Registration (only) $1,164 (2 axles) – $5,030 (4 axles)
Double $9,457 – $10,402 (4 axles)
Plus for the Trailer $550-$2,200, but typically $1100 (no CTP)

+ CTP which is bizarrely a flat rate of $2,372

Truck Fuel Consumption 30-55 L/100 (ABS), so 3-5 times that of a Ford Territory, so relatively efficient considering.

In Canberra damage is no doubt done by Trucks, that’s physics, but would suggest mainly from many dirt moving trucks (HEAVY). Also dont forget buses continually plying our roads.

At the end of the day we both need and rely heavily on trucks so society is happy to subsidise.
In any case we really subsidise the businesses (Coles/Wollies/Shell) who force drivers to long hours and lower pay whilst paying off their trucks with interest (profits to banks).

Rail is way behind in investment (catching up) and the costs are relatively high, but we will need both RAIL and TRUCKS (and more of them) in the future.