With the latest outbreaks of coronavirus, we see more examples as the cross border craziness continues. This is an issue which has dogged the trucking industry for many years. When every state in Australia has a different rule and uses different criteria, the people of Australia get annoyed and angry, but the trucking industry has had to put up with this situation for many years.
The trucking industry knows that the petty differences in rules around freight transport between the states are not only a drag on the vibrancy of the economy, but also a pain in the proverbial for all concerned.
The Australian public are finding out about the annoying differences of emphasis in each state when trying to cross state borders to visit dying parents or just coming home from an interstate visit. On the news every night, they are also seeing one state go for immediate lockdowns to stem the spread of infections, while others resist the urge and continue on with minor restrictions. Same problem, different rules.
‘There is no consistency’ goes the cry from the befuddled populace, who see each state go off in their own confusing direction.
‘Welcome to our world’ say road transport operators across Australia. In fact, the rules vary so much between states that some prefer to stay away from any freight crossing a state border.
The future improvements in productivity, which will drive future economic growth for the nation, are under different schemes in every state. As the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator gradually tries to work towards national consistency, the states come up with another bright idea and the road managers come up with a new set of pre-conditions before a particular combination can use a particular length of highway.
Livestock carriers in each state run with a different form of livestock loading scheme, so those moving interstate have to ensure they adhere to the rules in the most draconian state. This kind of unnecessary inefficiency is galling for busy operators trying optimise operations.
The GVM regulations also vary from state to state, just to keep it interesting. Blood alcohol limits come in at different truck sizes across the country. The list goes on.
Governments realise that at harvest time most bulk trucks are loading in remote areas with no access to vehicle weighing facilities. So, they do the sensible thing and make allowances during the busiest harvest periods, to allow a small amount of overloading error. Then when they set the percentage allowed, they all come up with a different figure.
We all know working in the trucking industry was never meant to be easy, but now the rest of the nation are also getting the idea that differences in rules from state to state, really are a pain in the proverbial.
