ATA implores Australian government to focus more effort on improving rest areas

ATA implores Australian government to focus more effort on improving rest areas

The Australian Government recently revealed that it will only spend $46.4 million of the $60 million budget allotted for improving rest areas for truckers, among other projects. According to Ben Maguire, CEO of the Australian Trucking Association, this will, in all likelihood, not be enough to solve problems facing drivers out on the road today in terms of mandatory breaks and a shortage of places to stop. “The fatigue laws require truck drivers to take regular breaks, but there still aren’t enough truck rest areas in the right places,” Maguire said in a press statement. “When rest areas are available, they are, all too often, filled up with caravans. Their condition can be shocking.”

In order to understand the extent of the issue, Maguire recently took a trip from Dubbo to Melbourne with Rod Hannifey, a vocal advocate for truck drivers. “Rod pointed out the many areas where rest areas could have been built at low cost in conjunction with road upgrades,” Maguire said. “These opportunities were not taken. Rod also pointed out that too many rest areas do not include basic amenities like toilets, lighting, water and shade. Access to toilets, lighting and water are basic rights. Office workplaces, including for the ATA and government agencies, do not compromise on the provision of these basic rights.”

Not a new problem

The ATA has been talking about the importance of this issue for years now, and although some strides have been made, it hasn’t quite been enough. In 2008, the ATA asked for funds to build 900 extra rest stops over the ensuing 10 years. In 2012, the Australian Government announced plans to spend $140 million over a seven-year period to build or upgrade rest areas and take on other projects also mentioned in this year’s announcement. Still, even as recently as January of this year, Maguire and the ATA went out to stress the need for better rest areas, and more recently pointed out that there is still a lot of work to do.

“Our roads and rest areas are a driver’s workplace, and we have little chance of resolving fatigue if we do not provide drivers with the basics they need to do their job of moving Australia’s freight to homes and businesses,” said Maguire. “The Government’s own budget documents show that it expects to be $13.6 million behind on rest area spending in 2017 to 2018. The Government needs to focus on delivering its budget commitments and fixing the real problems that Australia’s truck drivers face on the roads whenever they need to take a break.”