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Point of view from Michael Parker
To the Truck Drivers of Australia
In an effort to make all drivers lives on the road a little easier to bear, I wish to share my views on changes to the trucking industry, and hopefully get some changes made that will make our lives a little easier.
There have been some changes of late that have been brought in that have made our lives a lot harder on the road , we not only have to juggle being away from our families and friends to earn our living but we now have to go back to school and learn how to count forwards and count backwards. My teenage daughter isn't taught this in high school so how are the older generation who have been driving the highways for years, suppose to be able to immediately change how their working day/night is recorded. This idea probably sounded fantastic to some office worker (who has probably never driven any further than the train station), but in reality it has just created more work for truck drivers rather than allowing them to jump straight into bed, talk to loved ones on the phone or be able to take a walk to stretch their legs and get some exercise like normal workers do. These new log books - sorry 'work diaries' have been brought in with the focus of fatigue management, with this in mind when a tired driver pulls up for the night, he then has to fill in his log book - work diary - again and then try to get his brain to work out the count back and forward, doubling checking he hasn't made the slightest mistake, for fear that some fresh faced transport officer won't jump out and go over the book and find a t that hasn't been crossed and then bear the burden of a fine and LOSS OF DEMERIT POINTS to top it off. Now if this isn't enough for you, and you can't cope with this well you must be depressed and that is why truck drivers kill people on the roads......isn't that right? Is the government trying to tell me that no-one else is ever killed on the roads by any other motorists, although didn't I hear that motorcyclist are the number 1 motorist killed every year and what is done about them - do they have to fill in work diary to check for fatigue or depression. Yes depression that is the latest little government workers idea for a laugh at the truck drivers that bring him his coffee beans to his favourite coffee shop and the cup and the milk and the sugar and the flour in his doughnut and the chair he sits on and the computer he types away at and the redbull he drinks to wake himself up in the morning so he can get out of bed after a big night on the town - where is his fatigue management, has he been checked for depression??????????? What about the thousands of people who are diagnosed with depression who are allowed to drive to work, from work and for work anytime, anywhere what do they have to do - NOTHING. All these changes that are made aren't even advertised thoroughly enough, the government can't even send out the changes to truck drivers so they are guaranteed to know about them before they are issued a fine and find out about the changes from that. Don't tell me they don't know who the truck drivers are and where we live because the taxation department sure can find us regularly to do ridiculous audits all the time.
Thank you taking the time to read my rant, I know your time is precious and could have been better spent sleeping, playing with the kids or giving the wife/husband some lovin. If you find you want to share this with other drivers please feel free. Maybe if enough drivers say something we may make a difference.
Yours in Truckin
Michael Parker