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Australian Road Research BoardMarch 4, 20191 min read

Guidelines highlight rest area importance

It’s as important for heavy vehicle drivers to rest as it is to drive.

Fatigue management for all drivers is a major contributor to making our roads safer.

And a significant element of this is the proper provision of heavy vehicle rest areas – which incorporate things like toilets, shelter and drinking water - to help truck drivers manage fatigue and get proper rest.

Developed by ARRB, Austroads’ new set of guidelines for the provision of heavy vehicle rest areas has been welcomed by the Australian Trucking Association.

ARRB’s David Green led a team of researchers to put together a set of guidelines to assist road agencies and government in planning, prioritising and designing proper heavy vehicle rest areas.

The report has addressed several key issues including:
• Acknowledging a link between fatigue management and rest area frequency
• Driver security
• The need for bays on level ground and separated from noisy areas to promote sleep

David and National Transport Commission (NTC) director of productivity and safety Mandi Mees presented an Austroads webinar outlining the new guidelines, which replace guidelines that were more than a decade old.

The NTC has welcomed continued conversation on the topic of heavy vehicle rest areas.

The ATA says it will canvass drivers on the topic within an interactive workshop on heavy vehicle rest area design at the Trucking Australia conference in Perth from April 3-5.

You can find the new guidelines to heavy vehicle rest areas here .

Listen to webinar in full via the Austroads website here

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