25th February 2024 A Sydney week.

Goodaye all, spent the week running in and out of Sydney in a single as I had asked work if I could get to Sydney for Thursday for the NSW Road Safety Forum. I had been invited and whilst the recommendations only came out last week from the NSW Parliamentary Inquiry, I was in two minds about attending. Yes I could have done it online, not really the same though and attending meant I got to meet and speak with some people I had spoken with but never face to face and also to get in some peoples faces, in the nicest way.

I believe I was the only truck driver there, but Simon O’Hara from Freight NSW attended and I was told NATROAD attended by video, so a couple of other trucking voices. In the table sessions I raised many of our issues and having got home and unloaded this morning after doing a change over to Moree last night, I have spent another two hours doing the Community Attitudes Survey, post event survey and the Rail Crossing survey (which I have also forwarded to the NRFA for other board members to complete). I was invited to the Railway session in Brisbane next month, but I will leave the board to decide who goes there, but have still raised a number of issues and suggestions through the survey.

Many comments on the photo from the conference, thanks all and I was snapped coming through Bathurst by Bathurst Truck spotting during the week and he put up a shot too.

The next meeting of the HVRASC is in Canberra this Friday coming and I am trying to get to that too. Yes could do it by video, but would still have to sit and watch for hours and not have the same input, would still not be able to drive with the ridiculous mobile coverage we have now, so am on plan D so far and will see what the week brings.

The NSW Government now has three months to respond to the recommendations from the first inquiry and I raised some of them and will be pushing to see change between now and then. I came home through Mudgee twice during the week and aside from a green reflector bay just west of Mudgee, there is not one rest area or suitable spot if you get a bit tired. On the first trip there were trucks parked the wrong way in two sites and I stopped in one the next trip (a stockpile site) and it is now marked eastbound along with one at Frying Pan Creek on the Great Western.

Only a short visit home and with Canberra, may not get home next week-end and that will be another problem, but we will see how it goes during the week. With the meeting in Sydney, they had an international speaker and yes, overseas experience is worth pursuing and collating to see if it has relevance and worth here, but outside of some volunteers and those in community roles, as I have said at some meetings in the past, we as Truckies do not get heard unless we are prepared to forego a lot of time and money and even then, do we get listened to?

I have done this for a long time and the return on investment is very large in the minus column, yet if we don’t make the effort who will? In discussion with a Tpt for NSW fellow, even 25 years since the first then blue now green reflectors went up, from the perspective of worth, even if I simply prevent one fatigue event, let alone save a life, it is worth it, but geez it is hard to do so any other way and the cost to family etc, is huge over such a time.

So Vegemite on raisin bread for brekkie and off to hook up now, load at noon from a couple of hours away, then a timeslot in Melbourne tomorrow morn and hope for the best. Till next time, Safe Travelling, Rod.

14th February 2024 17th NRFA Conference.

Goodaye all, on my third trip into Melbourne last week, there was a prang on the ringroad before the dipper and traffic qued for miles. They had the right hand lane with the red cross, yet hundreds of cars and trucks kept going up that closed lane and then pushing in at the end. I rang Vicroads and lodged a complaint that they had closed the lane way too far before the crash, making it worse, was told going under the red cross was like driving through a red light and that Police were on site and I said, good, then let then fine the 300 vehicles that went past me. Again, I was told they had to comply with certain rules and I said, all I am asking is that you consider reviewing that then.

All who did the right thing and moved over when the cross was red, then had hundreds of cars go past and then push in. Today I got a call from the Traffic and planning department. I explained the issue from where I sit, then of course went on to explain the debacle with the M1 closure with the lack of signage and a suitable b-double detour Monday night and that I had also rang to be bounced around by Vicroads, then “the Big Build” and then to Citilink, to not get one person to accept responsibility or even consider the problem as serious.

Will this solve things there, who knows but the fellow said he recognised my passion and my concerns and that yes, it did seem to be a lack of communication between agencies made things worse. We will see.

The NRFA Conference went very well, Collette and the team who organized it, did a magnificent job and I can’t even come up with one little thing that was not perfect. Many contributed, before and on the day and it went well. There were a couple of announcements I will detail later, one on rest areas and one on weighbridges and all I have spoken to say it was well run, efficient and effective and I might happily say, the best conference I have attended or been involved with. Well done everyone who helped, supported and or attended.

We did hold an AGM the Friday night before the conference and Glyn Castanelli, the past Vice President was elected as President. I had not planned to step down and Glyn has put in a lot of time in Canberra and at other functions and meetings as the VP in the last year and with his new job, will be able to continue to do that. As an employed driver, I have my employer, Rod Pilon Transport who have supported me now for over 15 years to consider and of course, there are only so many hours in a day and my family have paid for my efforts over the last 25 years and I can’t do it all and perhaps this is an issue for some.

When I was first asked to take the role of President, I said yes, I was happy to give it a shot and would do my best, but that all the stuff I was already doing would not stop and as long as that was understood, I would try my hardest to do my best for the NRFA and many have said they were surprised I had been voted out, including me. But I will remain on the board as past President and continue to do all the other stuff I do. Nothing stays the same and we must all accept that and also that some change is inevitable, but I will keep promoting and participating in the NRFA, as I believe it is the most owner driver/driver focused group, the most grass roots group and the best to achieve anything for those on the road. Till next time, Safe Travelling, Rod Hannifey.

11th February 2024

Goodaye all, sorry for last week, had a fairly busy Saturday and left after 8 AM Sunday morning so my normal blog window was lost. Got over to load after a two hour trip, but then the truck in front had loaded and the forkie later apologized saying he had not scanned the load and it all had to come off a van and then be scanned and reloaded. Funny how the first day of the week can have such an impact. So out later, into Melbourne to find roadworks, different stories on the UHF about the Burnley tunnel, got there, yes was open, but had a detour at the far end sending trucks off to try and avoid low bridges.

We all pulled up, traffic qued for miles, I directed traffic and got most of the cars around, trucks off to the side and the fellow at the front had spoken with the traffic controller after the first one had no clue and we were told in 15 minutes, we would all be escorted through the one open lane in the roadworks, excellent. That lasted 5 minutes till someone else said no, so all of us had to do a sharp right and go back through tunnel and go off at King Parade and then find our way from there.

A sign at the start of the tunnel saying “Find Alternate Route” when you are already there is not good enough. I simply went out Dandenong Road to Oakleigh and we will come back to that. All the way out I could hear drivers asking how to get here or there and I hope no one got badly lost or stuck. I had looked at my delivery address and it looked like an industrial type area, but when I got there with another loop to avoid a wild b-double unfriendly bit, I found the street had houses down the other side, so no parking there. Ah, a roundabout ahead, MMM this looks a bit tight, made it round with at least 6 inches to spare using the road, the gutter and the footpath a bit, then lucky it was cool enough not to need the Icepack, and to bed to be rocked by speeding cars all night.

Up, walk in, no you could have come in earlier, thanks a lot, wait and unload and back to Altona. On the way, rang Vicroads, the roadworks, insufficient signage and detours not suitable for large trucks was a problem, “Not us, that is the “Big Dig” roadworks, I will pass you on, thanks. No, not us, that is Vicroads, no they said it is you, no then it is Citylink and I’ll pass you on and they would not even answer the phone. I did ask the first two to follow up either way and of course, have not heard back. I then rang the VTA to see if they were aware and they too were to follow up.

Weights and roads there were another issue I will ignore here for now, but did detail to Vicroads too. Loaded and out, made it back to Tomingley for radio and had Sal Petrocitto, the CEO of the NHVR on the radio taking calls for an hour and a half, did a little longer myself, then to bed and later back to Dubbo where I was due to load later that night for Sydney.

Another driver went AWOL and they ended up loading me back to Melbourne, but now on a mission, thankfully roadworks done at tunnel and nearly made it to Dandy only three minutes overtime and found only one spot left in a road filled with trucks and trailers, all local it seems as they were gone in the morn. Again, paperwork had said delivery after 9 and that suited my arrival time, drove in then and they said, no open at 6, so maybe next time.

Back to Altona for another drop and load to again as had a plan to be in Shepparton for the NRFA AGM Friday night and conference Saturday, so on a mission now. Load again, for Dubbo, out and made it back to Tomingley again, but only two minutes overtime this morning. Got a shower there, sleep and into Dubbo, unload and fuel and out again to reload where I started Sunday. Happy forkie there, loves my truck as I load it different to others (not) then “That’s another of your drivers, he doesn’t have a clue”. Sorry, not one of ours, we don’t have any Volvos. Loaded, grab paperwork after an exchange with the stop go man out the front, then the dispatcher says, “That bloke, first trip, does not know what weight he can carry, then wanted to argue he had to take 34 pallets and would not listen or understand, they would not load it and let him out overweight”. Yes he was an overseas gent and how can anyone be sent out to load without a clue. I did think back to the first time I ever loaded there, told the forkie it was my first time there, but knew what weight I could load and gross etc. What a world we live in now. OK so getting tired now and much to do and tell, so will do a midweek update just to keep you all in suspense about the conference. Till then, Safe travelling, Rod Hannifey.