What the HVIS Survey Report showed us about driver conditions.

In April the 2022 Heavy Vehicle Industry Safety Survey Report was released.

What it showed was that there were significant improvements on all things that a company can take direct action, which is a good sign that companies are taking matters like driver fatigue seriously, and taking that into account when managing driver schedules.

Along with that comes a great reduction in crashes as a result of driver fatigue. Good news indeed.

There was a relative rise in incidents due to other factors, especially driver error, but we need not see that as bad news or call to blame. Instead, this report is a golden opportunity to accurately assess the situation, recognise problems and adjust whatever part of the process to ease that issue.

Driver error

Some read the report and noted how sharply ‘driver error’ rose, but much of this is a statistical illusion. The proportion of incidents due to fatigue dropped sharply, so it stands to reason that the proportion of something else would rise even if the absolute numbers stayed the same.

Also, with so many other factors being accounted for, some of the crashes which may previously have been attributed to something else, say brake failure, are now recategorized as being driver error.

Having said that, there are factors which may contribute to a larger number of driver errors.

Driver shortage

Drivers seem to be in short supply. Despite efforts to improve working conditions, drivers are staying a shorter number of years before looking for higher pay in a different industry.

Meanwhile, filling the ranks of drivers seems to be becoming more difficult.

What makes other fields so attractive for young people? There is a broader economic question there: Are young people as happy to drive a truck off into the semi-desert for the same amount that they may get working a minimum wage job closer to home?

What is career-building in our own industry? Is there a path of apprenticeship that leads somewhere? Or is that not cost-effective? Leaving little time to train skills?

And what of the business of staying in business?

Economic dominos

Cleanaway was recently fined $12 million (reduced to $3 million) for an incident in 2014 where they were liable for the inexperience of a driver who did not engage a lower gear coming down a hill, and crashed killing two people.

It is all very well to take action against a negligent company so as to reduce such incidents in the future, but what is the follow-on effect of this fine to the company?

Running a company profitably and competitively becomes difficult with this fine. The possible result is that this company is in a worse position to offer better pay to its drivers.

This chain reaction may have led to the Cleanaway driver strike, and the pile-up of uncollected garbage in Sydney last month.

Lower pay in one big company can have the effect of setting the pay lower across the industry, even in completely compliant companies with no incidents. Also, with the insecurity over the possibility of legal fees and fines, those companies may set aside money that could go to wages, and keep it as a safety buffer against times of trouble.

All this could result in companies cutting corners where they can, including the amount of time it takes to properly train drivers.

Driver skills and experience

As career truckers leave and young people enter the industry, if only for a few years to then be replaced by more young people, what happens to driver experience?

Driver training becomes more expensive due to more new drivers who need it, of course, but extra training is also needed for the new practices and components on trucks.

What came up in the 2022 report was that drivers often had little knowledge of some of the newer components on their trucks.

What is an Autonomous Emergency Braking System? When does it kick in? How do I use it? What do I need to check to make sure it’s working properly?

Only 47% of respondents reported confidence in knowing about AEBs, 42% knew about Lane Departure Warning Systems, and 33% knew what Side and Rear Underrun Protection was.

This tells me that either not enough budget is available for driver education, not enough time for a proper educational method, or perhaps that there are now far more newfangled components on modern trucks to get around to all of them.

And then to teach newcomers the basics of driving: What do you do when a P-plater cuts you off while going downhill? How hard can I slow before I cook my brakes? Do I need to load my truck differently to account for both hills and other inexperienced drivers?

This skill is vital, and along with it you need to know your brakes. The survey showed that knowledge of truck Anti Lock Braking System (ABS) was the highest of all surveyed components at 77%. …yet that leaves 23% who reported that they did not have a good understanding of their own brakes!

Are we creating the circumstance where companies are focussed on not getting fined, at the cost of making sure that the drivers know how to use their brakes?

This is of course a concern, and one at the heart of ACASA. Reports like this tell us exactly where we should be looking with a magnifying glass, and advise companies according to what will keep drivers driving safely as well as businesses running securely.