This month our Land Transport Working Group (LTWG) considered Extreme Events at their Land Transport Incident Review Panel in Brisbane.
Opened by Adam Fitz-Henry (Chief Operating Officer, Qteq), who welcomed virtual and face-to-face delegates with an acknowledgment of country and a safety briefing before handing over for a Light Vehicle Water Crossing Incident presentation.
An in-depth look at our Water Crossing for Light Vehicles Guideline was then presented by Peter Runge (Integrated Gas Asset Services – Logistics Manager, Origin Energy).
Across Australia, increasing extreme weather events can lead to water levels increasing across causeways or otherwise unrestricted roads becoming flooded due to overland flow of flood waters. The intent of the guidance is to provide drivers with simple and safe rules for crossing water in Light Vehicles when avoidance is not practicable
With the Guideline materials regularly amongst Safer Together’s most-used and most-viewed, it is clear that the scope, purpose and content of the Guideline remains relevant to members.
Peter then facilitated an audience discussion session on what our members see as the Land Transport hazards and challenges currently facing the sector.
Hazards that members continue to observe in our Land Transport operations include:
- Load restraint issues - pertaining to restraint concerns, not packaging.
- Wheel incidents - loss of tyre/rim in transit
- Other road users- uncontrolled events caused by other drivers.
The LTWG will use this to inform future focus.
Another incident presentation followed, this time a Bogged Telehandler incident was followed by a brief update on the Common Industry IVMS Roadmap and Reporting from Graeme Bell (National Response Centre), who closed with a reminder to our members to report inconsistencies, updates and inaccuracies in the Roadmap.
Simon Kay (NSW Operations Manager, Murrays Coaches) presented next on Murrays Coaches Driver Fatigue Technologies: ‘The Murrays ALERTs System - Pushing MiX Vision AI Technology to Communicate Better’, a fascinating deep-dive into Active Fatigue and Distraction Detection (AFDD) to support behavioural-based safety in their drivers. This, in combination with an active centralised response monitoring system has so far resulted in improvements in:
- Fatigue management,
- Forward collision warnings,
- Driver distraction warnings,
- Following distance warnings, and
- Significant improvements in driver behaviour and habits through education using the AFDD technology.
Adam returned for a LTWG update – that included a call for new Working Group members, before Peter returned to close the event.
Thank you to our event sponsors, Origin Energy.
Members can view a full recording of the event.