The ATA has released its submission to the National Transport Commission (NTC) on its discussion paper about improving Basic Fatigue Management.
Truck drivers accredited to work under Basic Fatigue Management are required to take a long rest break of seven hours in any 24-hour period. If however, a truck driver took a six-hour break and a separate two-hour break in the same 24-hour period, this could be used as a court defence.
Mr St Clair said truck drivers should be able to split their long rest break into a two-hour break and a six-hour break as a right, provided they did not split their rest on two consecutive days.
“We know from NTI data that fatigue is a real issue on return to work. The risk during this first period of work is in the first five hours, as the drivers are establishing their ‘work rhythm’,” said Mr St Clair.
“The penalty structure pressures drivers to be more focused on avoiding technical breaches later in the cycle, rather than being allowed (and encouraged) to listen to their body requirements at the time and take rest accordingly.
“Drivers need flexibility to be able to take rest when tired and a workable split rest provision will assist greatly,” he said.
Stuart said the availability of split rest as a defence in court was not working, because drivers feared that defending a split rest breach would be costly and time consuming.
He also said that the NTC’s preferred approach of allowing split rest breaks under Advanced Fatigue Management (AFM) does not help as AFM is out of reach of many drivers and companies.
The ATA submission recommends that drivers using BFM should be able to work on a 14-day cycle, provided it included two full days of rest with sleep largely during night hours. The two rest days would not need to be consecutive.
The submission supports the NTC’s recommendation that the night rest period under BFM should start at 9.00pm rather than 10.00pm, to accommodate drivers in rural areas who often commence work very early in the morning.
It also calls on the NTC to take rapid action to resolve the problems caused by state road transport agencies using different time counting rules.