Heavy commercial transport helps keep our economy running smoothly, but there’s a lot that can go wrong if you’re running a transportation business.
For starters, the transport, postal and warehousing sector accounts for the highest number of worker fatalities, according to Safe Work Australia. Under workplace health and safety laws, individuals or companies in this sector must eliminate or minimise road traffic safety risks whether you own or lease the vehicle. Also, since October 2018, the chain of responsibility law has been in force in NSW, ACT, SA, TAS and VIC. It ensures all parties in the heavy transport supply chain share responsibility to prevent breaches relating to mass, load restraint, dimension, fatigue and speed offences.
While HVNL (Heavy Vehicle National Law) has not yet commenced in WA or NT, HVNL applies equally to vehicles from those jurisdictions when they cross into one of the states or territories where the HVNL applies.
Heavy vehicles weigh 4.5 tonnes fully loaded, either by gross vehicle mass or ATM aggregate trailer mass.
Risks for drivers of such vehicles include time pressures, shift work that’s sedentary, fatigue, poor vehicle design, manual handling, working at height, as well as exposure to gas and other fumes.
When you hire staff to drive your heavy commercial vehicles, you’ll need to check their records for speeding, drink-driving and other issues. As your broker/adviser, we’ll let you know of any requirements that may apply as they differ from insurer to insurer. When considering your risk, the insurer will take into account your accident history, driver selection & training processes.
Once they’re at the wheel, your staff need to be aware of, and not tamper with, the 100km/h speed limiters on certain heavy vehicles. You’ll need to factor in the required speed when you do your journey planning. According to the Vehicles as a Workplace National Guide, your journey plan would also include:
And, to get a sense of where road freight movement happens in Australia, check out the CSIRO’s tool, the Transport Network Strategic Investment Tool (TraNSIT) for the agricultural sector. TraNSIT helps governments and industries reduce their risks of delays and inefficiencies, saving them 70% in costs, says the CSIRO.
Your heavy commercial vehicle needs a first aid kit and emergency management plan. Help your staff get emergency services to the site fast – that’s a factor in reducing fatality risks. A safety system within the vehicle could automatically trigger an alert, but this may not work when it’s out of mobile phone range. Ask your drivers for ideas to improve your safety systems. Ensure you record and analyse near misses, incidents and accidents to continuously refine your safety response system.
As your broker/adviser, we can advise you on how to reduce your risk profile overall and boost your protection with recommended insurance coverage. Issues to consider include:
Article supplied by OneAffiniti
Photo by David Becker on Unsplash
Book An Appointment
Submit a Claim
Contact Us