Heavy vehicle driver fatigue is getting a lot of attention at the moment with “work diary” blitz’s at enforcement Heavy Vehicle Safety Stations (HVSS) and individual driver’s being given bigger and bigger fines.

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A quick review of the NHVR’s Court Outcomes page (LINK) shows a lot of recent fines for drivers breaching their work / rest option requirements. In one example, from a court ruling on 5 May 2023 a heavy vehicle was intercepted on the Hume Highway at Marulan and the authorised officers while inspecting the driver’s work diary identified two breaches within a 24-hour period.

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The driver under standard hours had worked for a total of 19.5 hours and had only rested for 1.5 hours, even though the driver was aware that they were only allowed to work up to 12 hours in any 24-hour period.

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The driver was fined $10,000 for each offence ($20,000+ total fine)

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In a separate vehicle intercept at the Mount Boyce (HVSS) a review of the driver’s work diary  revealed similar breaches of HVNL Section 250. In court the driver was fined $15,000 and given a supervisory intervention order.

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Drivers need to remember that this is their obligation

The Heavy Vehicle National Law contains 300+ offences with only eight of those offences imposing demerit points attached to a driver’s licence (under the state and territories’ road traffic laws). 

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Seven of the eight demerit offences are related to being fatigued or in breach of the driver’s work and rest option with the other one being related to using a vehicle contrary to a defect notice. 

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Together this demonstrates that fatigue offences are treated by the law similar to other driving offences such as speeding or dangerous driving. That is, if you don’t comply you will lose your driving privileges.

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Changing from compliance to safety

Whilst a lot of people in the transport industry will find this hard to believe, drivers breaching their work / rest option or being fatigued does not in itself constitute a “CoR Breach”. A check of the legislation will show that this was changed in 2018. 

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Where we haven’t changed the narrative it seems that drivers are not taking responsibility for their actions. Whilst the parties in the chain of responsibility need to manage the safety of their transport activities and not cause or encourage the driver (or others in the CoR) to break the law, the driver has to not break the law too.

The shift of focus needs to be to support / encourage the drivers (and others) to be safe and fulfil their obligations and not hinder their ability to do so, rather than waiting for breaches to occur and then trying to take corrective action. 

Basically, it is about establishing safety routines / environment, removing the pressure and expecting everyone in the business to do the right thing - obey the law.

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