Transport and logistics are essential for the Australian economy. It is estimated that the industry employs over 640,000 people, and of those, approximately 200,000 are truck drivers out on the road.

Australia stops without freight transport as, due to our vast geography and sparsely distributed population, it’s currently the best way to reach customers. This means that there are great distances between manufacturing or warehouse facilities and customers – just between Sydney and Melbourne are 880km and 10 hours of driving.

All of this means that our trucking workforce is extremely important. But is this reflected in how trucking safety is funded and the strategies in place to protect trucker lives?

In this blog, we look at the safety record for the Australian trucking workforce and what is being done to improve their work conditions.

How safe is trucking in Australia

The Department of Infrastructure and Transport doesn’t mince words: truck driving is Australia’s deadliest industry. The NTI’s 2023 NTARC (National Truck Accident Research Centre) Major Accident Investigation Report found that the number of incidents increased from 1001 in 2021 to 1283 incidents in 2022. Let’s look deeper at the some of the key findings:

  • Since 2005, there has been a downward trend in fatal accidents in Australia involving trucks. However, the number of truck drivers dying in road accidents has not changed, showing that the beneficiaries of safety improvements have been car drivers, not truck drivers.
  • The biggest improvement in the last two decades has been the reduction in major accidents where fatigue and inappropriate speed were found to be the primary causes.
  • In fatal truck and car crashes, the truck driver is not at fault in most cases – approximately in 70% of cases.
  • Natural Perils are causing increasing financial losses. The unprecedented scale of the 2022 eastern Australia flood event caused 14.5% of all heavy motor large losses that year.

Click here to find out more about the report findings.

Risk it or fix it

There is clearly much to be done to improve safety for transport workers. It is particularly concerning that the fatality rates for truck drivers remain static, instead of reducing. So, what’s being done to address risk factors for truck drivers?

Fatigue

Australia has a well-trained and professional truck driving workforce, as evidenced by the fact that most truck and car crashes are caused by cars. Not only are non-truck drivers adversely affecting trucker safety, they are also contributing to truck drivers not being able to get access to appropriate rest.

A recent survey by the NHVR of 1000 Australian drivers revealed that caravanners have a lack of understanding of how to share the road with trucks. The survey showed that 60% of caravanners have parked in a truck-specific rest area, and 22% are doing so often. 

This information has led the Australian Trucking Association (ATA) to join truck drivers in stressing to caravanners the potential hazards associated with parking in these stops, including the possible disruption of crucial fatigue breaks. The ATA is campaigning for clarity among other road users that truck rest stops are for trucks as a matter of safety.

In addition, the ATA has recently been vocal about increasing investment to fix roads and rest areas for truck drivers. They have asked the federal government to invest an extra $5 billion over 10 years, highlighting the importance of rest areas, saying that improvements in this area are overdue.

This would be in addition to the $140 million over 10 years allocated by the government in 2022 for the Rest Area Program.

While major accidents caused by fatigue are decreasing, more must be done to support truck drivers to reduce fatigue risk.

Natural Perils

The ATA’s submission for a $5 billion boost to truck driver safety also addresses the increased risks created by adverse weather events, such as floods and fires. Their submission argues that Australia must invest in developing a defined all-weather network, with a supporting secondary network pre-approved for use, in the wake of road network closures due to fires and floods.

Considering how vital our trucking industry is to our day-to-day life (remember the empty supermarket shelves when our drivers were out of action?), improvements need to take place urgently. Especially considering that within the next 10 years, Australia’s freight task is expected to increase by 80%, upgrades to the roads and infrastructure used daily by truck drivers is vital for the transport workforce and all Australians.

Truck Design

Through the Safer Freight Vehicles package, the Australian Government has made changes to the national road vehicle standards to facilitate the supply of safer trucks in Australia to help reduce road trauma while bolstering freight productivity.

It is estimated the changes will provide a net benefit of over $500 million to the Australian economy.

The Package includes an increase to the overall width limit from 2.50 to 2.55 metres for new trucks that are fitted with a number of safety features.

A tech boost to trucking safety

A good Transport Management System should help you and your drivers create and maintain safe working conditions. The GoDesta TMS has a range of solutions that look after driver safety, as well as your bottom line:

Fatigue: Driver App, Compliance Automation, and Operator Alerts

Natural Perils: Real-Time Work Processes, Driver App, Operator Alerts, GPS Driver Tracking

Changing Standards and Safety Requirements: Compliance Automation

GoDesta makes it easy for you to mitigate risks and support your driver workforce.

Protecting what matters

It is of vital importance that the initiatives that are being implemented to improve trucking safety have better outcomes than the ones that have been tried in the past. The stats don’t lie – one of our most indispensable workforces is being allowed to work at an unacceptable risk level. This must change.

There are some innovative ideas that are encouraging to see. One of them is the NHVR’s ‘We All Need Space’ campaign, using celebrities such as rugby league legend Sam Thaiday and comedian Jimmy Rees to educate non-truck drivers on how to share the road. Linfox created a podcast specifically for truck driver safety and wellbeing called The Driver’s Seat, which is a creative way to reach an audience that has had a lack of self-care resources in the past.

There’s a lot of talk about attracting new blood to the trucking workforce. By boosting safety, the industry can demonstrate that it values its existing drivers while also creating a more desirable work environment and career for future drivers.

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GoDesta: Growing Transport Faster, Smarter