Media releases

The NHVR has released a targeted education campaign focused on the safety risks caused by illegal speed limiter tampering.

NHVR CEO Sal Petroccitto said the latest campaign aimed to prevent speeding before the foot touched the accelerator pedal.

“Speed is a major contributing factor in road deaths and serious injuries involving heavy vehicles,” Mr Petroccitto said.

“In the past year, 70 per cent of fatalities involving articulated trucks occurred in speed zones of 100km/h or above.

Australia’s peak body for mental health and wellbeing in the road transport, warehousing and logistics sector has taken a step toward improving access to mental health and physical wellbeing support for workers, with the launch of the Healthy Heads App.

The NHVR has re-instated temporary changes to the National Heavy Vehicle Accreditation Scheme (NHVAS) driver medical and audit requirements, to support industry during the ongoing COVID-19 restrictions.

NHVR CEO Sal Petroccitto said practical changes would be made to the scheme’s medical and audit requirements to meet the operational and health needs of our accredited operators.

The NHVR is urging all road users to give agricultural vehicles extra space on the road ahead of this year’s planting and harvest season.

The call comes during National Farm Safety Week (18-24 July), which is dedicated to raising awareness of farm safety issues in rural communities across Australia.

NHVR CEO Sal Petroccitto said the recent increase in Australians moving to regional communities in the past year meant more traffic for agricultural vehicle drivers to safely navigate during the up-coming harvest.

A joint report from the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR), Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport Australia (CILTA) and the National Truck Accident Research Centre (NTARC) has revealed Performance Based Standards (PBS) vehicles are involved in 60 per cent fewer major crashes than conventional vehicles.

This is a significant improvement over the results in a 2018 report which found 46 per cent fewer major crashes compared to the conventional fleet.^[1] PBS vehicles are also forecast to save 143 lives over 20 years.

The NHVR has urged heavy vehicle drivers to take extra care when using Adelaide’s South Eastern Freeway ahead of tomorrow’s Fatality Free Friday.

NHVR Chief Operations Officer Paul Salvati said the NHVR had investigated operators involved in two incidents on the downhill stretch of road over the past week.

“This stretch of road includes a long descent into Adelaide where heavy vehicle drivers need to be mindful of their own road safety and that of others particularly when carrying heavy loads,” Mr Salvati said.

An exciting new online safety hub has been unveiled by Australia’s leading transport and logistics specialist insurer, NTI, to support the growth and development of the industry.

The Better Business Hub helps protect Aussie fleet, transport operators and drivers by providing interactive, downloadable, applicable tools and resources to support them in their day-to-day.