Ia Ara Aotearoa Transporting New Zealand

Recently I spent some time in Rotorua and Gisborne, meeting with operators. I particularly enjoyed riding in the cab with Dick – a log truck driver for Seymour Transport Services – from Gisborne to Tolaga Bay.
It was a great opportunity to have a chat about the challenges he faces every day out on the road.
It was also fantastic to meet with operations manager Carla Seymour, who is an impressive young leader in the industry, with a real focus on doing right by her drivers.
Since I began this role late last year, one of the most enjoyable aspects has been the time I have spent going around the country meeting with people like Dick and Carla.
I figure ...

Most New Zealanders are quite shocked to learn that over the last two years there have been more road deaths involving drugs than there have been as a result of excess alcohol.
In 2017 and 2018, 159 people died on our roads in accidents where drugs were a factor – as opposed to 140 in accidents involving excess alcohol.
The NZ Transport Agency and the Police have quite rightly bombarded us with anti-drink driving advertising for decades now and we're all well aware of just how dangerous it is to be on the road with people who have been drinking.
Far fewer people consider the growing proportion of road users who are driving under the influence of drugs, be they r...

Road Transport Form chief executive Nick Leggett recently attended the Sustainable Business Council's Net Zero Transport Workshop, to explore how freight transport will achieve net zero emissions by 2050.
"The big take away for me was just how much pressure is about to come on the transport sector to reduce its carbon footprint," says Leggett.
"Without a doubt, government and business leaders see transport as the low-hanging fruit in the push to reduce emissions."
The overall transport sector currently contributes around 20% of New Zealand's emissions, while the heavy transport sector (road, rail and shipping) makes up 24% of that. This means that approximately 5% of N...

Road Transport Forum is pleased to welcome experienced communications and government relations adviser Josie Vidal to the role of communications and government relations manager.
Josie is supremely qualified for the role, having recently held a similar role at Horticulture New Zealand.
She managed communications and government relations for engineering firm Tonkin & Taylor's response and recovery work on the 2010 and 2011 Canterbury earthquakes.
Previous work included time as a press secretary and adviser to government ministers Nikki Kaye and John Carter….and in her past life she was a journalist.
RTF chief executive Nick Leggett says: "Josie is fast ...

There has been a bit of discussion in recent weeks about the place of cameras in truck cabs.
What I'm talking about here are driver-facing cameras, rather than those facing forward – pointed at the road ahead.
Unions have voiced concerns and have claimed that these cameras are leading to drivers quitting the industry. The argument is that having a camera pointed at the driver is invasive and leads to a perception that the driver is being watched at all times.
The reality is that the two types of cameras – events-based, triggered when a critical event like hard-braking is engaged…..and sleep detection cameras that sound an alarm if they detect a driv...