“The Transport Workers Union and number of trucking industry groups have been calling for a “phase-in” period to allow drivers and trucking companies to get better acquainted with the new laws,” Mr Roozendaal said.

“The Iemma Government has listened to their concerns and acted accordingly – this new ‘phase-in’ period will give everyone involved in the transport logistics chain enough time to understand their responsibilities.”

Mr Roozendaal said the ‘phase-in’ period would:

• Give trucking businesses currently not part of an approved accreditation scheme six months to enter one of the new national systems or face a loss of current business entitlements; and
• Give trucking businesses currently part of an approved accreditation scheme twelve months to upgrade to one of the new national systems.

“The new ‘Chain of Responsibility’ laws targeting speed and fatigue will help keep heavy vehicle drivers safer on our roads and raise safety standards in the trucking industry,” Mr Roozendaal said.

“These laws will make it harder for truck operators, including big corporations, to force drivers to speed or to drive unsafe hours and reduces the ability of the final customer to make unreasonable demands of the trucking companies.

“It means all parts of the logistics chain are responsible for the behaviour of heavy vehicles on our roads including employers, operators, consignors, loaders and schedulers.

“Around 80 per cent of long-distance road freight in Australia travels to, or through, NSW and that’s why the Iemma Government has rules and systems in place to make sure truck drivers don’t put the community in danger.

“The annual cost of fatigue and speed related heavy vehicle crashes has been estimated at around $300 million nationally.

“We’ve already seen positive changes in NSW after the “Chain of Responsibility” laws for overloading allowed consignors and consignees of overloaded vehicles to be prosecuted.

“These new laws build on that success and target fatigue and speeding – two of the most dangerous hazards on our roads.

“Heavy vehicle speeding is a serious issue, research shows that up to 29 per cent of heavy vehicle crashes can be prevented by drivers sticking to the speed limit.” Mr Roozendaal said the new laws mean that employers and managers of truck drivers need to follow rigorous quality and safety management systems for their drivers to keep their current business entitlements.

“The new quality and safety management systems will be assessed and approved under the National Heavy Vehicle Accreditation Scheme which has recently been strengthened by the National Transport Commission,” Mr Roozendaal said.

“I encourage everyone in the heavy vehicle industry to take advantage of the new ‘phase-in’ period to fully understand what the new laws mean for them.”