Any changes to fatigue management in the national truck laws must treat drivers like humans – not machines.

The ATA’s submission on effective fatigue management to the national truck law review calls for more flexible fatigue management, simplified rules and record-keeping, and a reduction in the penalties for work and rest hour record-keeping offences.

The ATA’s fatigue management plan would deliver substantial benefits including:

• More flexibility under a performance-based framework for operators to manage fatigue as a risk
• An extra hour to get home for drivers using the ATA’s new version of standard hours, with sensible risk controls
• Easier to use work diaries, with less risk of getting fined for paperwork mistakes
• A length incentive for operators that fit wider sleeper cabs, as proposed by QTA CEO Gary Mahon at the 2019 NatRoad conference

In developing the submission and recommendations, the ATA worked very closely with its members and Safety Committee. The submission also drew on collaboration session outcomes at the ATA’s Trucking Australia 2019 conference.

Read the submission below.