Truck drivers seem to be the first to blame when it comes to a major delay through any arterial road in Australia. Gridlock traffic could be stationary for hours while an accident scene clears and vehicles are allowed to pass again. This poses an inconvenience to motorists, who may be late to work or an appointment; but have no time to question the possible causes and the chain of events that lead a heavy vehicle to plough onto oncoming traffic.

“....Only two weeks ago a truck driver was heading north at seven o’clock in themorning carrying an empty load, fell asleep, swerved off the road and died –the driver was only 22-years old...” Chris Newnham, 40, a professional truck driver from Victoria told The Vine while on his break at a truck stop in suburban Sydney. Many factors may have contributed to the tragic accident, however some pressure todeliver his load on time, fatigue and the desire to “impress the boss” could have been the most pressing – this is the reality that drivers face today and which government is attempting to stamp out.

Last month, Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia implemented new fatigue laws for truckdrivers to reduce these numbers and prevent more lives being lost. There form aims the root cause of driver fatigue, rather than simply regulating hours, and makes all parties in the supply chain legally responsible for preventing driver fatigue. The National Transport Commission (NTC), which helped develop the laws, said the reforms would deliver significant safety benefits for heavy vehicle drivers and the community.

“Our professional truck and bus drivers will be healthier, better rested and trained in managing fatigue risks,meaning the risk of heavy vehicle crashes is greatly reduced,” Chief Executive,Nick Dimopoulos said.The main change implemented is the compulsory disclosure of kilometres driven in the new work logbook “to managing fatigue” but at least one driver saw this as just another bureaucracy, which does not address the core issues.

Mr Newnham is well aware that fatigue is one of the biggest causes of crashes for heavy vehicle drivers and knows his threshold – he does not want to be another statistic. David Sneddon, 46, from New South Wales, has been driving for overtwo decades and knows when it is time to stop and revive - not a second longer.Heavy vehicle driver Ian Vaughan, 46, is passionate about reducing the staggering statistics showing there was around 3,000 recorded heavy vehicle crashes between 2005 and 2007 (including 86 fatal accidents) but feels a lot more can be done. These are only a few of the names of the trukies who are literally driving th economy.

“If I abuse you in French and abused you in English, I’ve still abused you. So, if I cheat my logbook withkilometres or loading times, I still have to do the job... That is the bit thatI find frustrating ... The entire system needs to be changed, it is not justthe fatigue laws. All those forms are only used if something happens they wouldpull up that form, I might be dead, and they will say look, he told us he hadenough hours and he had a certificate to do his job,” Mr Newnham said.

Drivers are required to complete a fatigue management course to go behind the wheel of a truck, but some drivers are less than receptive to its effectiveness.
“The management course entails sitting down for 14 hours and somebody telling you to remind yourself when youget tired, I think it is a waste of time it is inconsequential – if the bloke has to get the load in, he’ll getthat load in,” he said.

Mr Sneddon feels that the government and relevant state authorities have taken a step in the right direction to combat fatigue nation wide among drivers, who are the backbone of the economy. He said that the industry has adhered to tough laws to protect drivers. 
“A lot of owners did force on their drivers to work long hours but I think that is changed now. If there is an accident and it was found that the employer was forcing the driver to work an unreasonable amount of hours, he is gone now. There are tougher lawsnow in that respect... at the end of the day we just want to make the roads safer,” he said.

Mr Vaughan, a Transport Workers Union member, 46, is currently driving a three ton vehicle on the Sydney, Brisbane and Tamworth route frequenting some of the country’s main roadways including the New England Highway.

“In the early days, you learned from the mistakes of others; you needed to be prepared to learn or end up a fatality. Many of the older guys would take the news guys under their wings andteach them how it works.

“We use to have one inexperienced guy in the fleet and he’d rise up the ranks, nowthere are 6-8 per fleet and there are less experienced drives to show them the way, they just can’t do it. At the moment some driving schools leave a lot tobe desired, there are some good ones and there are some bad ones,” Mr Vaughan said. He believes that there are no easy solutions but continuously fine-tuning the details is the essential. NSW Minister for Roads Michael Daley said the new laws improve the management of fatigue and speed across the heavy vehicle industry.  “We wouldn’t accept driversaffected by alcohol on our roads, and we shouldn’t be willing to accept driverswho are simply too tired to drive these big trucks and buses. These laws are about getting people off the roads who are dangerous - whether you are a farmeror a bus driver, if you’re too tired to be on the roads you shouldn’t bedriving,” he said.

Heavy vehicle drivers are part of the road and are an essential part of the Australian economy, they are often working under difficult situations and conditions, working away from family and friends and for days at a time. Fatigue laws are only a small part of the large puzzle and the govenrment has only scratched the surface to make it on par with international standards.