A truck safety forum held at Bombala on Saturday (5 July) highlighted the many challenges facing truck drivers in the region.

The forum held at the RSL Club was attended by 40 people including representatives from Bombala Shire, Forests NSW, Roads and Traffic Authority (RTA), South East Fibre Exports, most of Bombala’s log haulage companies, Monaro Logging, Pentarc, and a number of independent forest industry identities.

Forests NSW regional manager Mark Chaplin said safety was of the highest priority for Forests NSW, particularly the haulage of Forests NSW logs to mills. 

"The safety forum was a key part of improving driver awareness and skills. Sound safety standards can also improve the profitability of trucking businesses due to smarter driving, less fuel consumption and reduced damage to machinery," he said.

Mr Chaplin said achieving safety leadership in the forest industry had involved all companies and personnel working closely together with RTA, Forests NSW, VicRoads and VicForests. 

"We have already seen improvements in the industry’s focus on truck safety and this comes from a shared focus on productivity and safety conditions," he said. 

As part of Forests NSW long-term commitment to improving truck safety, Forests NSW has initiated and developed a truck safety project in 2007. 

Manager of the truck safety project, Andrew Nicholls, strongly urged any driver unable to get to the forum to keep a look out for posters relating to truck safety in their workplace. 

"Read them, and think about the messages they promote. I guarantee all drivers attending the day got something out of it, and I hope many more change their habits to allow a bigger margin for error.

"As professional log truck drivers I want each and every one of you to think about your safety (and that of other road users too) every time you set hands on the steering wheel," he said.  

Charlie Owen from RTA Southern Region in Wollongong said roll-overs occur for a reason. "What we want to do is to provide drivers with a better understanding of the factors leading to a rollover," he said.

The RTA addressed factors making log trucks unstable, and how much more unstable trucks become when the speed of the truck is too high, or the load is high, or the load is inadequately restrained. 

Bombala Shire mayor, Bob Stewart, highlighted the importance of safety issues discussed on the day and added to the list the need for drivers to be considerate about noise in built-up areas.

There are plans to conduct a forum in Eden from 18-22 August.

Photos available from sarahc@sf.nsw.gov.au

Media contact: Sarah Chester on (02) 6036 2110 or 0417 207 669