THE DEFINITIVE TRUCKING SITE

I recently received an email from Shirle Greig, media product specialist at Mercedes-Benz South Africa. Here’s what she said: “Hi Patrick - the whole of last week we were plagued with truck accidents, trucks stuck on the road and even Tony Blewitt on Classic FM made an appeal for truck owners to please fix their trucks. This past week seemed to be particularly bad. Every day I thought I must ring you and vent some of my frustrations! I just don't know why there are so many accidents and breakdowns. Is this a sign of trucking getting out of control due to sheer volume; or is this a sign of cheap labour with substandard drivers. As far as the breakdowns are concerned, is this a sign of lack of maintenance as some operators are trying to save costs? I have now vented my frustration and will tackle the highways again and try to avoid the road maintenance!” 

Shirle, you need to attend just one of our Brake & Tyre Watch exercises to see that the last point you make hits one of the nails right on the head. But let’s deal individually with three ‘signs’ you point to for there is relevance in each one of them. Your first query, on volumes, is valid because in the absence of an efficient, reliable and cost-effective rail service, more goods are being moved by road transport. In fact, a lot of goods are being put onto trucks which are ideally suited to rail but customers will not use rail as it is unreliable and inefficient. It thus irks me when I read how Transnet is still fumbling around with trying to find a successor to Maria Ramos to drive the process forward. May I remind these people at Transnet that South Africa is really not interested in your internal politics. What we are interested in is getting a rail service in place that serves the needs of the country and all its citizens. So get your blinking act together, stop ‘engaging’ and start kicking butt to get our rail services going again. 

As for your second point, here too you are correct for, like many sectors in this country, the trucking industry is facing a dire shortage of skills in many areas, not least of which is drivers. It is a well known fact that over the past years, the industry has lost many of its experienced drivers to HIV/AIDS. It is also a well known fact that not many youngsters are entering the industry to fill those gaps - and those who do are generally untrained and inexperienced. One can look towards government to lay blame as TETA has come nowhere near to succeeding in addressing this problem. However, I also lay the blame at the foot of the industry which, for many years, has ignored the issue of driver training. Basil Mann, for example - who many will remember as one of South Africa’s ace racing drivers - has been doing some sterling work in getting the insurance industry on board in terms of driving training and yet he gets little support from the industry itself. The problem is that traditionally drivers have arrived at the doors of operators free of charge. Now, companies have to pay for driver training and they are reluctant to do so. 

As to your third point, yes, there are operators who are trying to save costs by not maintaining their trucks due to the current economic downturn but the horrible truth is that there are plenty more who never have and never will care about maintaining their trucks – never mind trying to skimp during the current economic mayhem. For many, maintenance has never been a priority. Trying to turn a buck at any cost is what it’s all about for them – and often it’s at the cost of others people’s lives. Regular readers of FleetWatch will have followed our Brake & Tyre Watch projects over the past few years and many, like myself and our Brake & Tyre Watch partners – those wonderful men and women who give up their time to conduct these exercises in an effort to make a positive difference – are sick and tired of the absolute mayhem on our roads caused by unroadworthy and unmaintained vehicles, especially since it needn’t be that way. I am tired of the death, the tragedy, the heartache left behind when unroadworthy cars, taxis, buses and trucks plough into innocents. And all because the owners of these vehicles don’t give a damn about maintaining them in a roadworthy state. 

There is another contributory point to which you do not refer. This is the fact that the vast majority of our national traffic officials are unqualified to do the job when it comes to spotting errant trucks. We have seen over and over during our Brake & Tyre Watch exercises - which include one day’s theoretical training and a second day’s practical training for traffic and police officials – that they lack knowledge when it comes to identifying the signs of an unroadworthy truck. On this point, I do not blame the officers for it is not their fault. I blame the leadership which has failed to empower their officers with the knowledge necessary to enable them to do their jobs. I’ll never forget the comment made to me by a cop who, after attending our Middelburg Brake & Tyre Watch, project said: “I have always been too scared to stop trucks as I did not know what to look for. Now, after this training, I am confident to stop them and take them off the road. Thank you for empowering me.” On this point, having joined us on a few of our Brake & Tyre Watch projects, I am pleased to say that the Road Traffic Management Corporation is aware of this short-coming and is working with FleetWatch to correct it. Part of their commitment has been to join us as a partner when we go to the various provinces to train the officials. There are other projects we are working on to ensure the sustainability of knowledge . 

Why I highlight Shirle’s email and comments is because she reflects what so many are feeling out there. The general public is ‘gatvol’ with trucks breaking down, having their loads falling off, holding up traffic and generally causing mayhem. The truth is: The trucking industry does not have many friends outside of its own ranks. That’s a pity – a great pity – given the vital role this industry plays in not only keeping the wheels of the economy moving but also enhancing the lives of every South African. This role is not recognised. Instead, the image of the industry stinks. What are you going to do within your own company to change this? Please let us know. 

Patrick O'Leary
Managing Editor