There are many actions and inactions by farmers, stock agents, and facilities that can impact livestock and driver safety when transporting livestock.

When a farmer arranges to sell stock in a sale the more notice they are able to give to the stock agent the better. Failing to give adequate notice can result in last minute transport bookings which can impact scheduling vehicle availability, driver rostering, and trip planning.

Leaving mustering to the day of transport often means livestock will not be rested, relaxed, or empty. This impacts animal behaviour during loading as they are likely to be harder to load and loading will take longer, impacting driver safety and fatigue management. Livestock that has not been curfewed are more restless and are more likely to sit down or slip and fall during transport risking injury and death to the animal. This means the driver is required to stop and attempt to stand the stock back up contributing to delays and further impacting fatigue. Restless stock move around more, meaning the truck may be more difficult to handle, also impacting safety and contributing to fatigue.

Farmers should consider transport safety and driver fatigue when preparing livestock. Farmers must adhere to curfews and should do everything reasonable to ensure livestock is calm and fit to load, and penned in maintained yards with easy access and safe loading facilities when the driver arrives.

When a stock agent schedules livestock transport providing as much notice as possible is one of the easiest ways to positively impact transport and driver safety. Stock agents should be proactive and educate themselves on the facilities that drivers will be attending, and provide detailed information to the transport operator at the time of the booking. For example, if the agent is aware that a saleyard only has two ramps and it’s a busy sale week this information should be communicated to the operator/ driver so they can account for likely queueing and possible delays.

Stock agents should also do everything they can to support transport operators when reports are made of farmers failing to curfew animals off food and water or mustering at the last minute. For example, stock agents should remind farmers of curfew requirements at booking and encourage them to curfew animals, follow up when informed curfews were not adhered to, and consider whether it’s worth maintaining a business relationship with farmers that are repeat offenders.

When a facility such as a saleyard or abattoir fails to manage their schedule or has insufficient receiving or departure processes it can result in long queues. This impacts driver fatigue and work and rest hours as scheduling is more difficult, particularly when wait times are excessive and/or unknown. It also impacts animal welfare when stock crates are being used as holding pens, especially for animals that have travelled long distances. Facilities such as abattoirs and feedlots are less likely to have rest areas and amenities for drivers and it may be necessary for drivers to remain in the vehicle.

Facility owners/managers should consider transport safety and driver fatigue in their processes including the configuration of premises, traffic management plans, scheduling, arrival and departure procedures and amenities access.