Shortage of truck drivers in Australia?

[Trevor 57]

Most sensible people would bring that to the attention of the authorities discreetly - they would love to know. You are being complicit to their inattention to safety, you could have killed someone - no good blaming the system mate, look in the mirror

[BENT_8]

Originally Posted by Trevor 57

Most sensible people would bring that to the attention of the authorities discreetly - they would love to know. You are being complicit to their inattention to safety, you could have killed someone - no good blaming the system mate, look in the mirror

And how does someone discreetly inform the authorities about a missing globe Trev, when that Authority comes looking mate and they ask who drives it, how long do you think it would take before the informant would be exposed?
Especially considering I was the only guy driving it and had flagged the issue.
Its not like they go around peering into your cab looking for globes Trev, if the annual inspection didn't pick it up, it could only come from one source.

You see Trev, every morning when I rolled out of bed I had 3 choices I could make.
1, I could decide its not worth the stress of having it hang over my head and throw in the towel.
2, Flag every issue I know and worry for the next however long that i'll get a tap on the shoulder and told to move on.
or
3, pull on my cape, tick the boxes as required and head off to tip toe around in traffic hopeful that I can use my skills as a professional driver to avoid an issue which will expose the true state of play.

I chose the latter Trev, because jobs are hard to come by and I need the money and besides, if I chose either of the first two what do you think would happen?
Let me help you out Trev, that seat will be filled within 24hrs by someone else who then needs to make those choices every morning when they roll out of bed because the wheels have to keep turning trev.

As I said earlier, the industry is cutthroat and sometimes its simply a case of needing that vehicle out there to pay the bills and the difference being do we fix that issue or fill the fuel tank, for every 1 at the big end of town in their fancy late model vehicle is another 50 bottom feeders just trying to make a living before they too get swallowed up by the big guy.

Talking about someone else to fill that seat, i'll tell you a story which you may or may not know.
My Wife works with a lady who's cousin was killed a number of years ago when the heavy vehicle he was driving on his first or second day on the job had a brake failure.
This employer had been told about the problem by numerous drivers who we're sent packing only for some poor unsuspecting bugger, probably sent by a job network agency to fill a position and make themselves look competent, applied and got handed the keys.
He didn't have the benefit of knowing what would happen, he just loaded up and headed off full of pride that he was earning a crust and hope that it would last, well it did last Trev, all of a few hours until he came over a crest doing the speed limit to find a red light with traffic banked up, pushed the peddle and got no response.
To his credit he chose the large steel pole holding up the overhead gantry signage and sacrificed himself rather than kill some one minding their business.
That truck too came under the NHV laws but for some reason, it kept going out because the truth is, all the good intention in the world means diddly squat until it all goes wrong.
If I gave it away Trev, whats to say another unsuspecting good guy with good intentions doesn't end up facing the same situation in the near future.

Lets look at it from another point of view Trev, I flagged that issue and that's the reply I got, nothing. If I pulled the pin and a new guy went down the road and cleaned someone up, what do you think would happen?
I'll help you out again, firstly Major Crash will roll up and start their inquiries, they'll load it on to a tow truck and drag it down to their facility where they'll soon discover the inoperative ABS light, pull the dash and find the globe missing.
They'll then head on down to the business and start asking questions, the owner will pull out the certificate of compliance and say it passed, do you think Major crash will then head down to the government testing station and ask how it got through, of course they wont, they look further along the chain to the mechanic, did you remove the globe, mechanic checks the pre trip paperwork, not me, never been flagged and so they look at who signed for it on that day, the driver, who probably didn't even realise there should have been a globe in the first place but because COR says he signed to say it was ok, the buck will fall with him and he will be splashed across the media and head into a very long and expensive court proceeding where it becomes a he said she said.

Now I know im not going to change your views on it Trev, you obviously want to believe that your good intentions as an instructor and advisor made a difference, and it probably did in some places, but not all and you'd have to be naïve to think it would. So i'll leave it there and let the people who drive around amongst these heavy vehicles make their own minds up, they might want to cast a look sideways at the next set of lights and ask themselves, it that tyre really meant to have no tread on the edge etc. etc.
But hey, they can rest assured knowing that if and when something goes wrong, and God willing its not to them, someone in a suit will come along and start making his way to the bottom of the chain looking for a culprit.

[smoo]

Originally Posted by BENT_8

Lets look at it from another point of view Trev, I flagged that issue and that's the reply I got, nothing. If I pulled the pin and a new guy went down the road and cleaned someone up, what do you think would happen?
I'll help you out again, firstly Major Crash will roll up and start their inquiries, they'll load it on to a tow truck and drag it down to their facility where they'll soon discover the inoperative ABS light, pull the dash and find the globe missing.
They'll then head on down to the business and start asking questions, the owner will pull out the certificate of compliance and say it passed, do you think Major crash will then head down to the government testing station and ask how it got through, of course they wont, they look further along the chain to the mechanic, did you remove the globe, mechanic checks the pre trip paperwork, not me, never been flagged and so they look at who signed for it on that day, the driver, who probably didn't even realise there should have been a globe in the first place but because COR says he signed to say it was ok, the buck will fall with him and he will be splashed across the media and head into a very long and expensive court proceeding where it becomes a he said she said.

I don’t think you understand what is required of transport companies & their workshops or service providers when it comes to repairs and maintenance, and the CoR.
EVERYTHING has to be signed off (not necessarily repaired) for that vehicle to be deemed ‘safe’.
You’ve covered your **** by noting down the ABS defect.
The onus is then on your management to liaise with workshop management or maintenance contractor to get it sorted.
It is up to workshop to repair or sign off that it is ok to run.
If they can’t repair and aren’t happy sending it then your management need to accept that, and in my experience I’ve never had fleet control or dispatch or sub contractor demand a truck when I’ve told them it’s not safe to be on the road.
You’ve done your part, the CoR will have **** flowing uphill if you ended up in an accident and the original defect has not been repaired or has been signed off as safe when it isn’t.
All transport companies will keep a few years of maintenance recordS including drivers prestart/run/defect sheets explaining any defects and what acton was taken to remedy them. All of this paper work will have been signed off on completion by a mechanic and his or hers supervisor or manager. Transport companies are anal on this incase the worst should happen.
You are well within your rights to refuse to operate a vehicle you deem unsafe.
Management need to respect that. If they don’t then I’d be looking for another job. It’s not like there is a shortage of driving jobs around .

[BENT_8]

Originally Posted by smoo

I don’t think you understand what is required of transport companies & their workshops or service providers when it comes to repairs and maintenance, and the CoR.
EVERYTHING has to be signed off (not necessarily repaired) for that vehicle to be deemed ‘safe’.
You’ve covered your **** by noting down the ABS defect.
The onus is then on your management to liaise with workshop management or maintenance contractor to get it sorted.
It is up to workshop to repair or sign off that it is ok to run.
If they can’t repair and aren’t happy sending it then your management need to accept that, and in my experience I’ve never had fleet control or dispatch or sub contractor demand a truck when I’ve told them it’s not safe to be on the road.
You’ve done your part, the CoR will have **** flowing uphill if you ended up in an accident and the original defect has not been repaired or has been signed off as safe when it isn’t.
All transport companies will keep a few years of maintenance recordS including drivers prestart/run/defect sheets explaining any defects and what acton was taken to remedy them. All of this paper work will have been signed off on completion by a mechanic and his or hers supervisor or manager. Transport companies are anal on this incase the worst should happen.
You are well within your rights to refuse to operate a vehicle you deem unsafe.
Management need to respect that. If they don’t then I’d be looking for another job. It’s not like there is a shortage of driving jobs around .

No, you've read it wrong, there is no written evidence of the ABS light because it was removed prior to the introduction of the legislation covering passenger transport vehicles, when I first started, discovered the problem and spoke to management and the mechanic about it, all we had to do was turn up, start the vehicle and drive off, there was no official reporting procedure.
Soon after the globe was removed and it passed inspection the new laws came in and we then had to tick off things like oil, p/s fluid, coolant, brake fluid, wipers and washers, brake lights, head and taillights, indicators, clearance lights, reverse lights, windscreen condition and tyre condition and pressures.
Up until the vehicle was taken off the road recently the 'warning light' box was ticked as compliant because there was no globe to give a warning.

Now you could argue that the inspection which it failed would point to there being a problem from that far back, but seeing as its passed twice since, no one at the inspection station is going to admit they failed to pick up the missing globe so they'll all say it was ok on both those occasions and has gone missing since, im not silly, I know how it works.
Interestingly the last two on the list, windscreen and tyres have been removed from the check list...after people started reporting issues, so now those cracks and questionable tyres no longer have a place to be reported...
Would those forms then stand up to scruitiny if something we're to happen, no way as tyre condition is mandatory, but im guessing they're not worried about the 'what if's' and focussing on the 'get out there and drive without costing us money'.

Jobs..lol, you don't live in SA do you...

Anyhow, that's enough for me on the topic, I didn't come in here to blow any whistles, I just came in to suggest that its the pressures to either put your **** on the line in suspect vehicles or deal with the fallout of highlighting the issues which is turning people away from the industry.

[smoo]

Originally Posted by BENT_8

No, you've read it wrong, there is no written evidence of the ABS light because it was removed prior to the introduction of the legislation covering passenger transport vehicles, when I first started, discovered the problem and spoke to management and the mechanic about it, all we had to do was turn up, start the vehicle and drive off, there was no official reporting procedure.
Soon after the globe was removed and it passed inspection the new laws came in and we then had to tick off things like oil, p/s fluid, coolant, brake fluid, wipers and washers, brake lights, head and taillights, indicators, clearance lights, reverse lights, windscreen condition and tyre condition and pressures.
Up until the vehicle was taken off the road recently the 'warning light' box was ticked as compliant because there was no globe to give a warning.

Now you could argue that the inspection which it failed would point to there being a problem from that far back, but seeing as its passed twice since, no one at the inspection station is going to admit they failed to pick up the missing globe so they'll all say it was ok on both those occasions and has gone missing since, im not silly, I know how it works.
Interestingly the last two on the list, windscreen and tyres have been removed from the check list...after people started reporting issues, so now those cracks and questionable tyres no longer have a place to be reported...
Would those forms then stand up to scruitiny if something we're to happen, no way as tyre condition is mandatory, but im guessing they're not worried about the 'what if's' and focussing on the 'get out there and drive without costing us money'.

Jobs..lol, you don't live in SA do you...

Anyhow, that's enough for me on the topic, I didn't come in here to blow any whistles, I just came in to suggest that its the pressures to either put your **** on the line in suspect vehicles or deal with the fallout of highlighting the issues which is turning people away from the industry.

Righto, well I did use your example to explain how the CoR will clear you of any wrong doing and place the onus on the half **** mechanic who’d be before the courts if something major was to happen. I think in 2020 what happened back then as far as lack of rules and regulation or transport companies systematic failures go is irrelevant. So I think it’s safe to say we can leave it as that.
No I don’t live in SA. But we are looking for 2/1 FIFO MC drivers outa Adelaide up by the NT boarder if you are interested...

[BENT_8]

Originally Posted by smoo

Righto, well I did use your example to explain how the CoR will clear you of any wrong doing and place the onus on the half **** mechanic who’d be before the courts if something major was to happen. I think in 2020 what happened back then as far as lack of rules and regulation or transport companies systematic failures go is irrelevant. So I think it’s safe to say we can leave it as that.
No I don’t live in SA. But we are looking for 2/1 FIFO MC drivers outa Adelaide up by the NT boarder if you are interested...

All good, unfortunately im only HR with Synchro restriction as that's all I needed when I went through the testing, have kicked myself ever since as the extra few hundred dollars then would have been a lot easier to swallow than another 2.5k now to upgrade, but thanks for the heads up.
Mind you, i'd probably recoup that in the first month up there no doubt.