We’re working on a couple of important issues with NZTA at the moment.
One is getting clarity on changes to NZTA’s regulatory compliance strategy. The other is encouraging it to get on with enabling increased productivity, through changes to land transport rules, or any other way that works.
The first one is important because as NZTA moves into taking more direct actions against driver behaviour, particularly events that come to light via social media, it’s important we understand how their approach will be different to the Police’s. So we’re getting some clarity about all that.
Related to this change is a strategic shift in NZTA’s approach to compliance. Over the last few years NZTA has been requiring new conditions for transport operators in order for them to get access to concessions such as over-mass and oversize permits, flexible work hours, and reduced vehicle inspection frequency.
Another way of looking at this is that NZTA is rewarding operators that have better management systems to control the risks, and also rewarding those operators that share their compliance data. This could be the biggest change seen in the industry for some decades.
The basic concept has been around for decades although very few countries appear to have successfully used it. Australia is one of those with its national regulator, the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) . Many people in New Zealand will be familiar with the likes of ISO9001, ISO58001 and ISO39001 accreditation.
In anticipation of these changes there is a growing cottage industry of third-party providers offering alternative audit and accreditation services and the wide variety and associated costs is intriguing.
In the absence of NZTA formally providing a clear view on its intent, there are lots of different conversations occurring between various parties with little if any cohesion and that’s leading to uncertainty and risk of future investment.
Transporting New Zealand’s view continues to be that we should follow international good practice and take learnings from the past.
And to be fair we have had NZTA commit to providing much greater clarity in this space which is useful.
Important law change is about to come in
This week saw the third reading of the Land Transport (Drug Driving) Amendment Bill which is likely to be signed into law shortly.
As our Policy Lead Billy Clemens notes in Dispatch, nearly half of New Zealand’s fatal crashes in the last four years involved drivers affected by alcohol and/or drugs.
We’re right behind any moves that improve the safety of all drivers and we hope it is a useful tool for road safety.
International Road Union catch-up
The key finding from our regular catch up with the International Road Union was that what we’re seeing here, particularly in terms of the impacts of a weak economy and soft demand, is part of a global trend.
There also appears to be a weakening focus on decarbonisation in Europe, and slowing demand for trucks.
The recent Freight Perspectives newsletter on the state of the sector showed the UK registered 37,920 new heavy trucks in 2024, for an 8.7 per cent decrease compared to 2023. And while things are slowing there, the rest of Europe showed a 12 per cent average decrease in new heavy truck registrations.
Last days for the Road Freight Survey
If you haven’t filled out our National Road Freight Survey yet and you have a quarter of a hour up you sleeve, head over here and give us your opinion about the sector.
There’s also a $500 Bridgestone voucher and $500 worth of travel from the House of Travel to be won by a couple of lucky people.
Already the information from industry personnel is giving us plenty of good information to work with, so thanks to everyone who has taken the time to fill it out.
The link is here:
https://survey.researchnz.com/S2/1/RoadFreight/
Transporting New Zealand interim Chief Executive
