To state the bleeding obvious Australian bureaucracy is asleep at the wheel.

[elantra]

I’m sharing a short and concerning video.
I think quite relevant to the safety of people on bicycles. Directly and indirectly.

We like to think that our regulators have their eyes on the ball in the game of safety standards.

But this video “exposes” the reality of a lax system that lets unqualified and inexperienced persons put their bums on seats in the Australian transport industry.

I guess it’s a bit like any other Australian bureaucracy these days. Chewing up a lot of money to go round and round in circles, justify its own decisions and and not listen to the most senior people at the coal face of whatever industry you care to mention.

https://fb.watch/rp8bL_lSAu/

[brumby33]

It used to be that in order to get a semi-trailer license, you had to go through the license grades first. When I got my semi license in 1987, I already had a class 4 which was the same as a Heavy Rigid but enabled me to drive passenger vehicles as well in the days before Driver Authority cards needed to be shown.

So in 1987 I decided to get my HC (Heavy Combination) the classifications had all be changed since I had my Class 4. I went to a truck driving school and I flunked it on my first go as I was tired from working on a Heavy rigid steel truck at the time but got it on the 2nd go with flying colours. But.....with my semi-trailer license in hand, I still had no experience in handling such a vehicle with a load beyond 2 concrete blocks the driving school had on it's 36ft tandem axle trailer as apposed to the 40-45ft tri-axles that are used today. I would have had no hope on manoeuvring a single trailer in a working situation at that time and you only learn how to control the vehicle enough to get your license but nothing about load constraint or anything like that. I had to learn that from the jobs i got in between my bus driving career. I did Container driving in Sydney for about 3 years and the same in Brisbane for 9 Months (wife hated Bris so we moved back to Sydney)

I've heard old Hadley many times on the radio go off his head by semi trailers and B Doubles over height trying to go under the harbour tunnels, and can't back the trucks back out or trying to put a semi down Galston Gorge.

No point only being able to drive forward, you need to have skills enough to drive them backwards too....it's crazy!! I haven't seen it all but I've seen a lot and I've still got mates in the trucking industry and the stories I've heard from them of the antics of these foreign drivers. There has to be a better training before they can ever get behind the wheel of a B-Double or Road Train. I know for a fact and I've seen it in Western NSW where the road trains can operate that with the Indian drivers, they travel in groups of 2, 3 or 4 drivers, they keep those wheels turning 24/7 without turning off the truck engine.....that one truck supports up to 4 drivers in wages. they just rotate every 6 hours.

But of course....trucking Companies don't care...they just want the wheels to keep turning.....so they just get anyone with a fresh B-Double license and give them the paperwork and say off ya go!! When i was a young 22 yr old eager to drive the big rigs, i couldn't get a look-in for want of trying...."you're too young" "you're not experienced enough" bit different these days even with all the OH&S regulations.

brumby33

[g-boaf]

I've heard old Hadley many times on the radio go off his head by semi trailers and B Doubles over height trying to go under the harbour tunnels, and can't back the trucks back out or trying to put a semi down Galston Gorge.

He'll explode about anything and everything if he thinks it will get some ratings bonuses.

I agree there are some truck drivers who drive in an extremely dangerous and aggressive way. But they are a protected species so nothing can or will be done about it (or at least not to the trucking companies in any case).

[elantra]

I've heard old Hadley many times on the radio go off his head by semi trailers and B Doubles over height trying to go under the harbour tunnels, and can't back the trucks back out or trying to put a semi down Galston Gorge.

He'll explode about anything and everything if he thinks it will get some ratings bonuses.

I agree there are some truck drivers who drive in an extremely dangerous and aggressive way. But they are a protected species so nothing can or will be done about it (or at least not to the trucking companies in any case).

Well I guess that on and off for some years the admission of overseas drivers into the Aussie transport industry is a “political solution” to “workplace shortages”

But is a “political solution” a good solution ?

An “alternative solution” of course would be to increase wages and conditions in the industry to attract and retain more Aussies in the industry.

But I guess that “alternative solution” was not acceptable to some of the big stakeholders in the “industry” which I guess includes some of the big retailers.

But how much “value” does the “industry” put on human life ?
I think it is quite clear that some or many of the overseas drivers are not qualified to be operating big rigs.

And probably it is a gross oversight of the Australian bureaucracy to have allowed this to happen.
And why are the bureaucrats sitting on their backsides and not doing anything to remedy this disaster ?
As the commentator says “how many people have to die before something is done about it”

In recent weeks there have been multiple fatalities involving big trucks crashing head on.
And also the hit and run death of the man riding his bike in the Indian-Pacific route

[fat and old]

An “alternative solution” of course would be to increase wages and conditions in the industry to attract and retain more Aussies in the industry.

So many different things to unpack with this subject, but this caught my eye.

I've been watching the construction trucking industry since 1982 and have a brother and other relations who have been either driving, wrenching or otherwise attached to the industry since 1979. My old man was a heavy diesel mechanic, started in the late 40's until his death in '75. I've some

Geeeeeeeeeeeeeeeebus H . I stopped writing this as the Tilt Tray I've been expecting showed up. 30 min later, and I'm beyond consolable now. Let that speak to the state of THAT industry I can't even complete the original reply till I have a smoke......

Ahhhh, onto the subject at hand.

On the construction side of things. I've watched as new migrant groups have pooled resources and broken into the tipper industry. 3 or 4 times now. The first ones I saw were the Viets. Very smart operators. They'd get together, all drive the same model Euro truck (back in the 80's, when image was all...Kennys Macks Louys etc), chip in and rent a workshop and a mechanic or two full time and buy consumables in bulk. They won heaps of work. By undercutting the going rates. That never really stopped whoever was involved until the ownership or rights to a hole in the ground counted for more.

Almost 20 years ago my BIL worked for a national carrier, driving semis local. One day another ethnic group showed up, and he was livid. Placed by labour hire initially. All well under the going rate. He was one of the last to go, three years ago.

My old man saw it happen in the '60s with another ethnic group. Especially with local construction haulage. Same again, worked cheaper.

It should go without saying that in every case these fellas worked harder as well. Each new group moreso than the last as they grew complacent.

Truck driving is not only a regular wage for low skills, it's an easy gateway to self-employment and eventual Wealth and Power. How does a business grow? At the expense of it's competitors.

Just ask Lindsay Fox. Can't get much more "Aussie" than that.

[brumby33]

I saw 4 blokes of same ethnic group jump out of a Scania truck cab at Narrandera not so long ago as I was sitting across the road in a park having a bite to eat, (I was on a motorcycle ride up from Albury) they were driving a B-double and they went over to the servo I just came out of and all 4 back in the truck (considering it was only a 2 seater) and off they went. They never turn the motor off, they just keep on switching drivers, each do a 5.5 hour drive and swap over, sometimes when the truck is still moving.