On the Road

The NHVR is reminding operators of heavy vehicles transporting grapes to pay attention to their mass, loading, fatigue and work and rest hour requirements under the Heavy Vehicle National Law.

The reminder comes after grape spillage was found at major intersections and heavy vehicles transporting grapes inspected by NHVR’s Safety and Compliance Officers were found to be non-compliant. 

Mass and load requirements

Grapes, like all harvest goods, must be secured to meet the loading performance standards.

The NHVR is reminding operators of heavy vehicles and heavy vehicle combinations transporting round hay bales to restrain bales safely and in manner that complies with the loading requirements in the Heavy Vehicle National Law.

The reminder comes after an increased number of heavy vehicles inspected by NHVR’s Safety and Compliance Officers found round hay bales were not adequately secured or were not secured using an appropriate restraint method. 

Eligible concrete agitator drivers can continue to record idle time spent in a stationary vehicle while the engine is running as a ‘short work break’, under the upcoming National Heavy Vehicle Concrete Agitator Work and Rest Hours Exemption Notice 2022 (No 1).

The renewed exemption notice comes into effect on 1 January 2022 and will allow concrete agitator drivers to take 30 minute ‘short work breaks’ in blocks of 15 continuous minutes while they are sitting in the driver’s seat of a loaded truck and not working.

The NHVR will commence using branded security seals from 4 January 2022, supporting measures to deliver a consistent tamper proof transport and logistics network.

The seals will be used by NHVR officers in South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and the ACT where a heavy vehicle’s load is sealed and inspected.

Director Southern Region (Operations) Paul Simionato confirmed the seals would add an additional level of assurance for operators and drivers, together with those taking final delivery of loads.

The NHVR has approved Q by Quallogi as the first Electronic Work Diary (EWD) to operate on an additional Android and two iOS devices.

The NHVR recently accepted two enforceable undertakings (EU) from J.J. Richards & Sons Pty Ltd (JJR) and Brother Nature Pty Ltd (Brother) valued over $50,000 to correct activities around vehicle mass and loading requirements.

The EU for JJR stems from a skip bin loaded to a heavy vehicle operated by JJR was found to be leaking water onto the vehicle and road surface.

The heavy vehicle operated by Brother towing a single axle trailer breached the trailer axle group, weighing 1,020kg, breaching the permitted limit of 750kg.

The NHVR has approved a minor wording change to Standard 4 of the National Heavy Vehicle Accreditation Scheme (NHVAS) allowing operators to use alternative documents to record the completion of an annual vehicle inspection.

The NHVR approved the change after operators sought to reduce the duplication of existing process within their systems by allowing an alternative to the NHVR Heavy Vehicle Inspection checklist.

The new Standard 4 wording reads:

Managing fatigue, particularly within the heavy vehicle industry, is crucial to the success and safety of everyone involved.  The NHVR receives and answers thousands of questions from calls with drivers each year and we’ve included a few of the more common questions that may be of interest.

A new notice for road train prime movers will ease pressure on the road network, improve fatigue management and increase the efficiency of Australia’s heavy vehicle fleet.

The National Road Train Prime Mover Mass and Dimension Exemption Notice 2021 comes into effect today, following widespread consultation between the NHVR, road managers and industry groups.

Farmers are starting to reap the benefits of the removal of the requirement for Class 3 livestock mass exemption permits to include registration numbers, which took effect in December last year.

NHVR Network Access Policy Manager Jose Arredondo said, while transporters, operators or farmers could apply for a permit, farmers who have Class 3 permits often use a third-party operator to carry their livestock.

The NHVR has highlighted the importance of ongoing heavy vehicle safety education within the industry following its first successful Supervisory Intervention Order (SIO) in Victoria.

The matter related to the intercept of a heavy vehicle in March 2020 where the driver failed to comply with loading and dimension requirements under the Heavy Vehicle National Law.

The NHVR has filed charges against a national transport company and its executive, following a nine-month investigation into the company’s business practices.

The NHVR initiated the investigation following multiple vehicle collisions and Safe-T-Cam footage that identified breaches relating to the transport company.

Records for 15 drivers were analysed by NHVR Investigators revealing 225 fatigue and work diary breaches by the company.

The NHVR’s Performance Based Standards (PBS) scheme is a key pillar to delivering safe and efficient movement of freight across the country. We are committed to its ongoing success and ensuring it continues to deliver safety and productivity benefits for the heavy vehicle industry.

We are currently experiencing some operational challenges due to the significant increase in application volumes and departure of senior PBS team members. This has impacted our ability to assess and process applications within acceptable timeframes.