On the Road

NHVR staff across Victoria and South Australia have been doing their part for the bushfire relief effort with officers assisting to get hay to isolated, bushfire-effected areas.

Director Southern Region (Operations) Paul Simionato said that staff in Victoria and South Australia had stepped up to help out wherever they could.

“The NHVR was approached by the Victoria Police to assist with road traffic management, escort activities and traffic control,” Mr Simionato said. 

The NHVR is calling for two major reviews to be considered together, avoiding duplication and delivering better safety and productivity outcomes for the industry. 

The call was made as part of the NHVR’s response to the Productivity Commission’s draft paper on National Transport Regulatory Reform.

NHVR CEO Sal Petroccitto's response called for the Productivity Commission’s findings to be included as part of the ongoing National Transport Commission (NTC) Review into the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL). 

Fed up with the number of preventable crashes on Australian roads, including 1,188 road fatalities in 2019, female truck drivers are speaking out in a new campaign which aims to reduce risky behaviour.

NHVR Director Southern Region Paul Simionato said that Women in Trucking Australia Ltd (WiTA) - established by female heavy vehicle drivers to encourage and support more women into driving careers – was one of 24 organisations that received funding through the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator’s Heavy Vehicle Safety Initiative (HVSI), supported by the Federal Government.

Body worn cameras (BWCs) have been issued to all NHVR Safety and Compliance Officers (SCOs) following a recent trial in South Australia and Tasmania.

The BWC is a portable camera worn by NHVR officers to capture audio and video recordings of interactions between officers and those involved in heavy vehicle transport activities.

It also provides a number of important safety benefits by encouraging safe and mutually respectful interactions.

Some minor regulation changes for three-axle bus mass limits and steer axle mass limits for road trains will begin today.

Three-axle bus limits will increase from 20 tonnes to 22 tonne, reflecting increasing average weight of passengers. Previously buses were able to operate in some states at 22 tonne under permit.

The steer axle limit for road trains will increase from 6.7 tonnes to 7.1 tonnes (for tyre widths of at least 375mm). This reflects the increases in modern road trains’ tare weight.

The first Port Declared Freight Precinct in Queensland has been declared at the Port of Brisbane, improving access for approved Performance-Based Standards (PBS) Level 2 combinations. 

The joint initiative by the NHVR, TMR, Brisbane City Council and the Port of Brisbane will deliver greater efficiencies relating to the importing and exporting of heavier and larger containers that are over current mass and dimension restrictions. 

All VicRoads on-road services have transitioned to the NHVR, with Victoria joining South Australia, Tasmania and the ACT.

NHVR CEO Sal Petroccitto said operators would see distinctive NHVR uniforms and vehicles on Victorian roads. 

“As a national regulator, the NHVR can provide nationally consistent training and enforcement methods and resources, and undertake more complex, cross-border Chain of Responsibility investigations,” Sal said.

The NHVR is urging heavy vehicle drivers to take care in the lead up to Christmas while Authorised Officers conduct a multi-agency fatigue compliance operation.

NHVR Chief Operations Officer Paul Salvati said the latest Operation Wake Up, coordinated by the NHVR, was underway across Australia with Authorised Officers checking drivers for compliance with fatigue regulations.

“Making sure that you’re managing your fatigue is one of the most important things you can do as a heavy vehicle operator to keep yourself and other road users safe,” Mr Salvati said. 

The processing of Class 1 Oversize and Overmass permit applications for Queensland will transfer from Queensland’s Transport and Main Roads to the NHVR from 16 December 2019.

This is the last phase of the delegations to return to the NHVR and from this date, all permit applications in Queensland must be submitted to the NHVR via the NHVR Portal.

Three of the 60,000 access permits processed through the NHVR this year were for giraffes.

The latest was Kamili who last week completed the trip from Perth to Melbourne, transported by Melbourne-based operator L Arthur Transport Services.

The NHVR coordinated the oversize, overmass access arrangements in place to ensure Kamili’s safety on the 3400 km journey.

A new permit scheme for crane operations began across Queensland in late November as part of the on-going transition of Class 1 permits.

NHVR Program Director Annette Finch said the new Queensland Class 1 Crane Permit Scheme was the result of work undertaken by the NHVR, Local Government Association Queensland and the Crane Industry Council Australia.

“This scheme will increase productivity and reduce the burden for the crane industry operating across Queensland,” Annette said.

National Heavy Vehicle Accreditation Scheme services will be available in the NHVR Portal from 2 December 2019.

Operators will be able to manage their NHVAS tasks including:

An NHVR survey of close to 40 heavy vehicle operators using Advanced Fatigue Management (AFM) has found that those taking advantage of the flexibility offered by AFM had fewer fatigue-related incidents, an improved safety culture and higher productivity than other operators. 

NHVR Principal Safety Assurance Advisor Andreas Blahous said that the study followed calls for the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL) to allow for increased flexibility when effective fatigue management systems are in place.

Operators ar

Grapegrowers and wine producers, together with carriers, harvest operators and drivers, must ensure they take all reasonable steps to comply with the Chain of Responsibility (CoR) laws. 

NHVR Manager Stakeholder Relations and Customer Experience John Gilbert said a recent Wine Industry Day in South Australia was an important opportunity for grape growers to understand their obligations under Chain of Responsibility legislation.

“Grapes spilling off the back of heavy vehicles can make our roads slippery and dangerous for other motorists,” John said.

The NHVR will provide heavy vehicle on-road compliance and enforcement services in Victoria from 8 December 2019, with 54 staff currently employed by VicRoads in on and off road heavy vehicle compliance roles joining the NHVR.

A reminder that feedback on the Grain Harvest Management Schemes Review Issues Paper closes this week.

NHVR Executive Director Freight and Supply Chain Productivity Peter Caprioli said the paper addressed the different heavy vehicle loading schemes used during grain harvest across Australia. 

The NHVR has announced that the Vehicle Standards service will be available in the NHVR Portal from 4pm Wednesday 16 October.

This is another step towards giving industry a single source of business information, streamlining interactions and linking NHVR’s services.

Vehicle Standards applications for In-Principle Support, Exemption Permits and Modifications will be able to be lodged through the NHVR Portal.

You will also be able to attach:

The NHVR has released a top tips guide to the Portal to help operators reduce their application processing times.

NHVR Access Manager Roger Garcia said the short guide was aimed at addressing common errors and questions when applying for access permits.

“Following these simple tips makes it faster and easier for us to process your permit applications,” Roger said.

The NHVR is currently assessing a number of applications for approval as Electronic Work Diaries.

NHVR Executive Director Safety Standards and Assurance Geoff Casey said the current round of applications were of a varying quality after a number of earlier applications had fallen short of requirements. 

The NHVR has welcomed the rollout of a user-pay trial by the Australian Livestock Rural Transporters’ Association (ALRTA) to support safety in the unloading of livestock.

The trial, being conducted at Kilcoy Global Foods in South-East Queensland, allows heavy vehicle drivers to use the innovative Parallel Access Landing (PAL).

From 1 December, 2019 in Tasmania, all motorists must safely slow to 40km/h as they pass any stationary or slow moving emergency vehicle with red, blue or magenta lights flashing. 

The rule includes NHVR vehicles displaying magenta lights.

It applies to traffic travelling in either direction, unless there’s a dividing barrier between the motorist and the emergency vehicle. 

A revamped PBS scheme that focuses on flexibility and continued innovation should be a central part of reforms to the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL), according to the NHVR. 

NHVR Manager Vehicle Safety and Performance Peter Austin said that a vision for a reformed PBS Scheme, PBS 2.0, was a central part of the Regulator’s response to the National Transport Commission’s (NTC) HVNL Review issues paper Vehicle Standards and Safety.

The NHVR regularly reviews the security of its online systems, including the NHVR Portal, to ensure the safety of all users. As a result, a new password format will be required for all future passwords. 

This upgrade will be applied from Wednesday 18 September 2019.

What is changing?