Posts

Blind Spots on Trucks

When driving your car, you should be aware of your ‘blind spots’ – spots around your car which cannot be seen via the mirrors. For this reason you should always do a head check before changing lanes. Due to the size and length of trucks, which are obviously much larger than that of the average car, the blind spot areas are also much larger which makes for a potentially dangerous situation if other drivers are not aware of this. You may have seen a sign on the back of a truck: “If you can’t see my mirrors I can’t see you!” This is actually true, if you are too close behind a truck to see their mirrors, the driver has no chance of seeing you, and any unexpected turning or braking from the truck could easily end up in a collision. In NSW, campaigns have recently been launched to make road users aware of the dangers associated with sharing the road with trucks. This is due to several spots around the truck that are out of sight for the driver, so any pedestrian, small car or motorcycli...

An Easy Day for the Courier

It’s Monday morning and everything seems to be running more smoothly than usual . The winter chill is definitely here, but the sun is shining and that makes everything seem a bit brighter. It’s 11 o’clock and the driver has already finished the deliveries that typically take him until lunchtime. He checks the time and decides to stop for coffee, since he’s ahead of schedule and this doesn’t happen very often. Melbourne city is known for its restaurants, cafes and range of quality cuisine inspired from all parts of the world, so it’s not difficult to find a nice cafĂ©. Quieter Roads During School Holidays He sits down, opens the newspaper and browses through to see if there is any news that may interest him. He happens to notice an advertisement for a holiday program and then it finally dawns on him – it’s school holidays. 3.8 million students don’t all have to get to school by 9 o’clock. No wonder the roads were quiet this morning. But it’s not only the school kid...

Improved Roads on Yorke Peninsula While Concerns About East Coast Highways Remain

Works around the Upper Yorke Peninsula Regional Road Network Upgrade Program commenced approximately one year ago in May 2017. The purpose of the $40 million upgrade is to increase the safety and efficiency for large vehicles, agricultural vehicles and drivers. A major part of the project is to close a “missing link” for 36.5 metre road trains between Adrossan and Port Wakefield on the Yorke Highway, which should lead to an increased freight productivity. The program involves a new roundabout, bridge widening, new overtaking lanes, upgrades to intersections and junctions, shoulder sealing and general safety improvements. Stephen Knoll, Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Local Government, says that freight transport on the Yorke Peninsula will become more productive and efficient when the works have been completed. “These upgrade works to the Yorke and Copper Coast highways effectively removes the ‘missing link’ in the restricted access vehicle network.”...

Moving House and Finding the Best Interstate Freight Quote

Moving interstate was an exciting, yet highly stressful operation for our family, once we finally bit the bullet and decided to take up a job offer 1200 kilometres from where we lived.   Even with our careful planning, there were still so many variables right up to the last minute which meant we couldn’t really relax until it was all over and we’d settled in to our new home. One of the many challenges we encountered was the issue of interstate freight and deadlines.   We had a deadline for vacating the residence once we’d notified our landlord of our planned move interstate, which also put the heat on finding an available rental property interstate which would be ready for us to move in to over the weekend we had scheduled for our big interstate move. We also had the pressure of having given notice to my current employer, as well as our planned start date with the new job interstate which we had negotiated at the interview.   Although both bosses were...

Think Twice Before Helping a Courier Strap Down your Outgoing Freight

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It’s a familiar scenario for many businesses, not least the many wholesalers and retailers who ship bulky goods daily out from their premises. The courier rushes in with his open 1-tonne ute or a larger truck. It’s 3pm, he’s apparently had a rough day. Hoping to make life a bit easier for him on his last leg, you, the obliging business owner, wave him in as close as space permits to the outgoing consignment, and then proceed to load up the heavy boxes. The driver doesn’t complain, instead springing up onto the tray of the ute, proceeds to stack the outgoing delivery neatly against the front of the tray. It’s a large consignment, almost 2 full pallets, but the goods aren’t actually stacked on a pallet. All the more reason to give the poor guy a hand, it’s not unheard of for a transport company to on-charge any demurrage resulting from an excessive hand load or hand unload. And few people would question the ethics of this either, you’ve got to draw the line somewhere between the incide...