Australian Trucking Association finds opposition to bigger trucks

05 Oct 2010

Source:  Supply Chain Review
The trucking lobby wants higher productivity vehicles to be given greater access to the road network despite a government department raising concerns about the trucks. The Australian Trucking Association (ATA) has used the latest road freight figures from the Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics (BITRE) to argue the case for super B-doubles and B-triples.  According to the BITRE report, the overall road freight task will grow 2.67 percent per annum to almost double (1.8 times) between 2008 and 2030.

The interstate task is expected to more than double (2.3 times) and capital city freight will grow 1.7 times over the same period.  “To deliver these products efficiently, we will need to be able to use safer trucks with greater capacity on more roads,” ATA CEO Stuart St Clair says.  While noting the industry is keen for an increase in vehicle length and weight, the BITRE has warned government to be cautious.  “Such change has the potential to increase road damage and have adverse road safety impacts,” it claims in the report. The comments made by the BITRE on road safety contradict an industry-wide belief the larger vehicles are safer than conventional combinations.

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