The Road Trip - Know how much to Tow.

As the Australian Public go back to their natural migration habits, the Aussie Road Trip, there has been a significant increase in fines for vehicles exceeding the weight that can be carried or towed. Before you buy that heavy trailer or caravan, load your roof-racks to the brim, know the rules on your vehicle and trailer/caravan towing limits. Each state has differing limits, so you need to know your Aggregate Trailer Mass (ATM), your Gross Vehicle Mass (GVM) and your towbar's towing weight rating. A basic rule is that if your trailing vehicle is fitted with brakes, you can tow one and a half times the un-laden mass of the towing vehicle, otherwise, you can tow 750kgs of Gross Trailer Mass (GTM) or the unladen mass of the towing vehicle, whichever is the lesser. Refer our Editorial "Know How Much to Tow".

Should a Vehicle's Condition attract Driver Penalties.

No longer the domain of transport vehicles, the condition of passenger vehicles, whether safety or cosmetic in nature, has seen a significant increase in penalties issued to drivers, in both monetary fines and licence demerit points. The nature of these penalities are often not the subject of the precise wording of regulations published by the appropriate regulative authorities, but are often the result of an interpretation of these rules by law enforcement officers. How do you gain access to these interpretations, is it through compliance inspectors, driving instructors or access to officer training literature using the freedom of information act. How do you learn of these interpretations to road safety rules?

End of Pandemic Greeted with a significant rise in Road Casualties

Traffic Fatalities are on the increase, has driving behaviour grown numb to messages on road and personal safety? As roads remained eerily silent during the pandemic an underground subculture developed within the psyche of drivers, somewhat a pandemic post stress disorder, that has numbed drivers to the constant messaging on road safety, combined with a lack of exposure to the conditions of driving (i.e.speed, impairment distraction and fatigue). Does the driving instructor need new tools to assist drivers in processing these messages, will Psychology play a role in improving traffic safety or has the pandemic meant that the messaging needs to change?

Can you Learn Tactical Driving Skills Safely in a Pandemic ?

Does driver instruction require personal contact? Has the role of the driver and instructor changed? A driver and instructor each have new responsibilities not practiced prior the pandemic. The driver/instructor learning environment has changed with a look and feel to the experience very different to what it was before Covid. Will this impact how a driver acquires the skills to pass their driving test successfully?

Who is responsible for the actions of a Driverless Vehicle ?

How will driverless cars be used in the future? Is the role of the driver extinguished or will a new role be required, the driver agent ? A driver of a vehicle may not be completely virtual, where auditing the performance/responsibilities of a driverless vehicle still requires people based roles. Will monitoring/inspection take over from the day to day controlling responsibilities? What will an agent look like and will agents require training in what will become a new transport scenario ?

Is Towards Zero Revolutionary or Evolutionary ?

Is Towards Zero a new way of Thinking ? Journey forerunners, Scandinavia, are demonstrating that modifying people behaviour will not work without three other factors, that being safer roads, safer speeds and safer vehicles. The four elements must work in concert to minisimise the effect of a failure in any one of the four components for a move to a Zero target to become possible. So what is the true cost of this programme and how long will it take?

What is the aim of Driver Instructor Industry Auditing ?

The cause and effect syndrome has bled into the Driver Instructor Industry, with increased instances of accidents and road rage being attributed to the licencing of bad drivers. Are the road rules the only measure of a bad driver ? Should there be compulsary education in common courtesies ? Measuring the effectiveness of driver instruction may be as simple as equipping instructor vehicles with cameras that act as the first part of an audit trail on a driver and instructor capabilities.