Next 'No b-doubles' meeting on 11 May in Lawson

Concerned mid-mountains residents have joined with other Blue Mountains groups campaigning to stop b-doubles at a recent meeting in Lawson.

After the successful meeting in Blackheath, attending by well over a hundred people worried about the impact of b-doubles on their community, the campaign is now moving down the Mountains. A public meeting will be held on 11 May in Lawson that will discuss the issues that come with b-doubles, such as noise, safety, pollution and climate change.


"The Blackheath meeting heard about what a huge impact these enormous vehicles would have on our community. People raised their fears about the change to our Mountain identity these trucks would cause," said Eleanor Gibbs, Greens Councillor.

"Our group from Hartley came up to warn the people of the Blue Mountains about what is heading their way. We have been campaigning against the destruction of our village for months and the rest of the Blue Mountains needs to know what is happening to us, and what could happen to them," said David Peters from the Hartley Highway Action Group.

"It is urgent that we act on climate change as soon as we can - the future of freight is on rail, not on these fossil fuel powered b-doubles. The delicate nature of the Blue Mountains World Heritage area is under severe threat from climate change and it is time to stop investing in such old technology," said Tara Cameron, President of the Blue Mountains Conservation Society.

The speakers for the next public meeting will be announced soon. For more information: nobdoubles@gmail.com

Report on the last public meeting from Blue Mountains Conservation Society

In it's most recent newsletter, BMCS has written about the campaign to stop b-doubles in the Blue Mountains, reprinted below with permission.

A s many of you may know on the 16th of March there was a public meeting held at
the Bates Hall in Blackheath to discuss the issue of trucks on our highway. The concern was that the Great Western Highway upgrades, that are improving conditions on the road, might allow larger and more dangerous trucks to start using the highway. The particular concern of the meeting was the possibility of mammoth 26 metre B-double trucks joining the already large number of heavy vehicles on the highway.

The meeting was filled to capacity with many diverse members of the community represented. The meeting was organised and facilitated by Ward 1 Greens Councilor Eleanor Gibbs and the formal speakers included local state member Phil Koperberg, Blackheath Chamber of Commerce representative Michael Paag, Hartley Highway Action Group representative John James, Greens State member Lee Rhiannon and myself, representing the Conservation Society. My position as Climate Change and Sustainability Officer meant that my primary concern was the lack of investment and attention given to rail alternatives for freight transport.

There were many conflicting concerns about the economic, social and environmental implications of increased freight transportation from the booming Central West. My primary argument was that the combined impacts of peak oil, climate change and an economic downturn meant that cleaner, safer and energy efficient alternatives had to be on the table.

With 89% of freight transportation Greenhouse Gas Emissions coming from road transport and only 6% coming from rail, there needs to be a real discussion on why the rail industry isn’t being given due consideration. The Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme is compensating road transportation in its carbon pricing, but not rail. This, creates an immediate disincentive for producers to use this mode of transport and yet another reason why the CPRS has
failed us in so many ways.

These are just some of the issues that were raised on the night, and it was acknowledged that there needed to be a cohesive, mountains-wide response to this threat. Many of the groups that were represented on the night agreed to work together on this issue and more meetings are being planned.

My position as Climate Change and Sustainability Officer meant that my primary concern was the lack of investment and attention given to rail alternatives for freight transport.

There were many conflicting concerns about the economic, social and environmental implications of increased freight transportation from the booming Central West. My primary argument was that the combined impacts of peak oil, climate change and an economic downturn meant that cleaner, safer and energy efficient alternatives had to be on the table.

With 89% of freight transportation Greenhouse Gas Emissions coming from road transport and only 6% coming from rail, there needs to be a real discussion on why the rail industry isn’t being given due consideration.

The Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme is compensating road transportation in its carbon pricing, but not rail. This creates an immediate disincentive for producers to use this mode of transport and yet another reason why the CPRS has failed us in so many ways.

These are just some of the issues that were raised on the night, and it was acknowledged that there needed to be a cohesive, mountains-wide response to this threat. Many of the groups that were represented on the night agreed to work together on this issue and more meetings are being planned.

By Helen Deane

Everything old is new again!

Concern about the impact of b-doubles in the Blue Mountains is not new. The issues are the same now, with the added urgency of climate change, as they were in 1998 - read about a former campaign here.

Issues with rest areas for truck drivers

It may not seem obvious, but without adequate rest areas, how can b-double drivers be safe? There are currently not enought rest areas through our region to ensure that drivers are getting the breaks they need to drive safely and act lawfully. Yet one more reason why the Blue Mountains and B-doubles do not mix.

There's new national legislation about mandatory rest breaks for drivers of heavy trucks, like b-doubles.

In NSW, the reform took effect on 29 September 2008 (five months ago) under the NSW Road Transport (General) Regulation 2005 which contains new provisions relating to the management of heavy vehicle driver fatigue. The regulations apply to drivers of heavy trucks with a Gross Vehicle Mass (GVM) over 12 tonnes or a truck and trailer combination with a combined GVM over 12 tonnes; and buses that seat more than 12 adults (including the driver) – i.e. mini-buses. There are transitional arrangements for bus drivers.

An example of the mandatory rest periods is that a driver must not work for more than a total of 6 hours before taking a 15 minute rest. Also in any 24 our period, a driver must no work more that 14 hours and must have at least “7 continuous hrs stationary rest”. .

Read: Deloites Paper http://www.deloitte.com/dtt/article/0,1002,cid%253D216529,00.html?wt.mc_id=au_engoogle_FL8

RTA Guidelines: http://www.rta.nsw.gov.au/heavyvehicles/safety/hvfatigue/index.html

Note the lack of heavy vehicle rest areas on the Great western Highway. There is only one Driver Reviver facility across the Blue Mountains at Faulconbridge. The other truck stop with no facilities is at exposed Mt Boyce. See RTA Rest Areas Map: http://www.rta.nsw.gov.au/heavyvehicles/downloads/restareas/great_western_map1.pdf

Concerns have also been raised in Moree about this issue.

Concerns over critical shortage of rest areas

BY LUKE BUFFIER

20/01/2009 10:52:00 AM

Concerns have been raised over a critical shortage of major rest areas for heavy vehicle drivers on the New England and Newell highways.

National Roads and Motorists’ Association (NRMA) regional director, Graham Blight, said even with new heavy vehicle driver fatigue reforms, the majority of rest areas across NSW weren’t up to scratch.

“There’s pretty tight prescribed times when they’ve got to stop,” Mr Blight said.

“You can’t ask people to comply with new regulations and laws and not provide the facilities.”

Read the whole article here: http://moree.yourguide.com.au/news/local/news/general/concerns-over-critical-shortage-of-rest-areas/1411558.aspx

Welcome to campaign blog to stop b-doubles in the Blue Mountains

Having kicked off the campaign, with a packed public meeting in Blackheath in March, a wide range of groups have come together to work on a coordinated campaign to stop huge b-doubles thundering through the beautiful Blue Mountains in NSW, Australia.

Stay tuned for more information and you can sign up to get involved by sending an email to nobdoubles@gmail.com.