The trucking industry has welcomed the government’s decision to allow wider, safer trucks on Australian roads.
Assistant Secretary for Infrastructure and Transportation, Carol Brown, announced a five-centimetre width increase for new trucks equipped with advanced safety features today.
Australian trucks are 2.5 meters wide. Trucks in Europe are 2.55 meters wide; Trucks in the United States are 2.6 meters wide.
Mr Smith said the increase in truck width to the European standard of 2.55 meters would save the cost of redesigning European trucks for the Australian market.
“We know that future design changes will be increasingly difficult or uneconomical to adapt to Australia’s narrower truck width and relatively small market. This will include battery electric or hydrogen fuel cell trucks,” Smith said.
“The government’s decision means there will be more choice for operators, more zero tailpipe emission models and more competition for our capital investment dollars,” he said.
Mr Smith welcomed the new wider truck safety package, which includes better indirect visibility for drivers, lane departure warning, side protection for rigid trucks and high-visibility markings for rigid trucks.
“New blind-spot vision requirements will increase the safety of motorists, pedestrians and cyclists,” Smith said.
“ATA has long argued that trucks need more and better blind spot mirrors. This is especially true for hooded trucks, where drivers need to be able to see their front blind spot.
“But at the same time, drivers need to be able to use their rearview mirrors to accurately reflect their trucks.
“In our discussions with the Government, we were very pleased to have been able to reach agreement on rear view mirrors for trucks which will improve visibility and ensure drivers can continue to use their mirrors during their training.
Mr Smith said there was still work to be done regarding the truck display.
“There is a compelling case to increase the width of trucks and trailers to the US standard of 2.6 metres, which would make the market more competitive and provide further safety and productivity gains.
“As a next step, the government should increase the width of trailers to 2.55 metres, and allow flat-sided trucks and trailers, such as refrigerated trucks, to have a width of 2.6 metres.
“A 2.55-metre-long truck equipped with side curtains has an envelope of 2.6 metres,” he said. “Allowing 2.6-metre-long flat-sided trucks and trailers would reduce the energy needed to cool the cargo, because the side insulation could be up to 90 mm instead of 40.” mm”.
Mr. Smith thanked Assistant Secretary Brown, Transportation Secretary Catherine King and their staff for their consultative approach to the new rules.
“ATA’s technical staff was able to review confidential drafts of the final design rules. We didn’t get everything we asked for, but it’s a big step forward in terms of model selection and safety,” he said.
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