If you pass a truck on a South Australian country road, there is a good chance it is carrying something that started its journey on a farm.
It might be grain heading to a receival site, livestock travelling to a processor, or fresh fruit and vegetables on their way to market.
And often, the person behind the wheel is the producer themselves.
South Australia’s $16.3 billion primary production sector relies on the safe, efficient and cost-effective movement of freight across our road network. For farmers, trucks are an essential part of running the business.
But rural roads are shared roads.
Whether you are driving a truck, ute, family car or school bus, everyone deserves to get home safely at the end of the day.
That is why Primary Producers SA (PPSA) has partnered with the South Australian Road Transport Association (SARTA) to enhance deliver defensive driver training specifically designed for primary producers who drive heavy vehicles on rural roads.
At the centre of the program is SARTA’s HVSim, a unique heavy vehicle training simulator, designed to replicate real world heavy vehicle driving conditions and high-risk routes.
Over the next 12 months, PPSA and SARTA will take the program to regional communities across South Australia, giving producers the opportunity to practise their skills in realistic driving situations without the consequences of making a mistake on the road.
The simulator can be configured as a heavy rigid truck, semi-trailer or B-double and can recreate changing weather, traffic, pedestrians, reversing and loading situations, as well as the South Eastern Freeway descent into Adelaide.
PPSA and SARTA have also developed a new rural road scenario reflecting the challenges producers regularly encounter – blind corners, vehicles stopped on road shoulders, narrow roads and situations where there is little margin for error.
That is what makes the simulator so valuable.
Drivers can experience a difficult situation, make a mistake, understand what went wrong and try again – in a safe environment rather than learning that lesson in a real truck on a real road.
One group we particularly want to reach is people operating trucks under a restricted primary producer heavy vehicle licence.
South Australian agriculture is dominated by family businesses, and during busy periods family members and employees are often called upon to help move grain, livestock and other commodities.
They play an essential role, but some may drive heavy vehicles less frequently than professional truck drivers and have fewer opportunities to enhance their driving competency and skills.
This program will help build those skills while also supporting producers to better understand their safety management responsibilities.
The objective is straightforward: better prepared drivers, safer freight movements and safer roads.
Primary producers have a responsibility to move their commodities safely, and the community rightly expects high standards from everyone operating heavy vehicles on public roads.
Because whether you are driving the truck or sharing the road with one, the outcome we all want is the same – to collect and deliver a load, then arrive safely home to our families.
This project is made possible through the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator’s Heavy Vehicle Safety Initiative, supported by the Australian Government.
This column was written by PPSA CEO Caroline Rhodes and originally appeared in the 27 August 2026 edition of Stock Journal.
