Primary Producers SA (PPSA) and its commodity group members are partnering with the South Australian Road Transport Association (SARTA) to provide interactive and practical defensive driver training to producers, their family and employees who drive trucks.
The program, launched at the Eyre Peninsula Field Days, will see PPSA utilise SARTA’s Heavy Vehicle Simulator (HVSim) at a series of workshops to be held across SA. The simulator mimics real-world scenarios, helping drivers to improve their skills in negotiating different challenges on the road, including other traffic, pedestrians, reversing, loading and unloading, and different weather conditions.
PPSA CEO Caroline Rhodes said the organisation is acutely aware of the vital role that safe, efficient and cost-effective transport plays in SA
“South Australia’s $16.3 billion primary production sector is underpinned by safe and efficient movements of commodity freight by heavy vehicles on the local road network,” she said.
“PPSA believes by developing a bespoke driver safety training program, industry can address the current workforce shortage in heavy vehicle transport, while improving road safety outcomes for the broader community.
“We want to ensure that all primary producers who operate heavy vehicles have access to the best training possible to enable them to get home safe and well to their families every night and result in safer roads for all users.”
SARTA Executive Officer Steve Shearer said he was excited to be working with PPSA on this innovative project to make South Australian roads safer.
“SARTA’s $500,000 HVSim provides a very realistic simulation environment,” he said.
“Participants sit in a life-like truck cab and are faced with traffic and a range of other hazards. It also moves depending on the road conditions and how it is being driven, so users get a very realistic feel for driving a truck, meaning drivers can learn safely without the real-world risk.
“Through the partnership with PPSA, we are upgrading some of the simulations and scenarios to better match the unpredictable road user environments that producers are faced with on rural roads.
“We will also be providing information to producers on safe loading practices and load restraint, and other factors associated with the risk of truck rollovers such as driver error or fatigue, and safety on rough or unsealed roads, or variation in speed to maintain vehicle stability.”
The project is made possible through funding from the Australian Government’s Heavy Vehicle Safety Initiative which is administered by the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator.
Producers can register their interest in attending a workshop on the PPSA website: https://ppsa.org.au/projects/#safety
