Investigations have been urged into ways of making new trucks, offering the latest safety features, more affordable under sweeping recommendations to improve safety in the heavy vehicle sector.
The reforms are among those recommended by the federal government's road safety review panel, with many of the sector's key safety issues highlighted in a recent campaign by Australian Community Media (ACM).
During the same week as the ACM campaign ran in early March, the federal government finally moved on two key heavy vehicle safety mandates: that of Advanced Emergency Braking (AEB) and Electronic Stability Control (ESC).
When complete, the Australian implementation will come 10 years after the same regulations were mandated in Europe. The new technology can be retro-fitted to many older trucks, but only at significant cost.
As a result, the Joint Select Committee on Road Safety wants the Federal government to work with state and territory governments "to investigate options to incentivise the purchase of newer, safer heavy vehicles and increase their affordability".
Over 70,000 trucks on Australian roads are between 15 and 22 years old, according to the Heavy Vehicle Industry Association.
Purchase cost is a major inhibitor to fleet turnover as a basic, new heavy prime mover fitted with the latest safety equipment can cost well upwards of $130,000.
Committee chair and former federal transport minister Darren Chester acknowledged that many older trucks are driven sparingly or seasonally by owners, but agreed they still presented a higher crash or rollover risk than more contemporary vehicles.
The committee also identified that there was insufficient good data, as was common across all road transport sectors, to help inform decisions about ways of addressing heavy vehicle crashes.
As a result, the committee wants better mechanisms developed to identify the driver at fault in heavy vehicles crashes, together with the collation of relevant details such as the vehicle type and age. Pooling data in a standardised way is a big issue across the states and territories, which can't yet agree on how to collect serious injury data
ACM's Blake's Legacy campaign, which honoured four-year-old Canberra boy Blake Corney killed instantly when his family's SUV was rear-ended by a tipper truck while stopped at at a set of traffic lights on the Monaro Highway in 2018, urged widescale heavy vehicle reforms including the fast-tracking of the latest two safety mandates.
AEB systems detect likely forward collisions, provide the driver with a warning and, if the driver does not respond, apply the brakes automatically.
ESC systems detect the risk of a rollover and automatically decelerate the vehicle in response.
Both will be required to be fitted as standard as part of Australian Design Rules 35/07 and 97/00 on all new heavy vehicles from November 1 next year. For existing new models, the mandate stretches out to 2025.
Heavy Vehicle Industry Association chief executive Todd Hacking welcomed the federal move but urged purchasers of heavy vehicles should not wait for the mandate to come into effect.
"I encourage anyone thinking of buying a new truck or trailer to make the safety of all road users their priority; don't compromise if you are given the option to add the latest safety technology to your vehicles," he said.
BLAKE'S LEGACY:
