The trucking industry needs to take advantage of new technologies such as telematics to boost efficiency, security and safety, said Transport Certification Australia (TCA) chief executive Chris Koniditsiotis.
Speaking at the plenary session “Heavy vehicles: the next generation” at the ARRB Conference in Adelaide, Mr Koniditsiotis highlighted the evolution of heavy vehicles over the past 50 years and relevant support systems and technologies.
“Information pertaining to the vehicle and its consignment has been an important part of the evolutionary chain,” he said.
He said heavy vehicles continue to become more sophisticated, with the development of advanced information and communication systems.
The transport companies need to consider implementing vehicle telematics, he said, which could be a powerful tool to improve the effectiveness and safety of vehicles, drivers and companies themselves.
“Transport operators are gaining commercial benefits from the better management of factors such as routes, speeds and loads, there can be improvements in safety and productivity as well as a reduction in vehicle wear, transportation times and overall operational costs,” he said.
“Additionally, governments are using vehicle telematics to better manage road use, again providing for productivity and safety improvements.”
Vehicle telematics is at the centre of the upcoming intelligent access program (IAP), which is to provide heavy vehicles with improved access to the national road network in return for monitoring of compliance.
The IAP, managed by TCA, aims to tackle a growing transport task, constrained road infrastructure budgets and heavy vehicles safety issues.