ALRTA and NTI launch national 24hr emergency hotline

The national hotline (1800 425 782) can be used by anyone wanting to report livestock transport-related emergencies

 

The Australian Livestock and Rural Transporters Association (ALRTA) and the National Transport Insurance (NTI) have launched a 24hr national hotline, LivestockASSIST, to coordinate emergency responses to incidents involving heavy vehicles carrying livestock.

The national hotline – 1800 4 25782 (or 1800 4 ALRTA) – is free to use for all livestock transporters or anyone else at the scene of an incident.

The launch of LivestockASSIST “establishes a rapid national emergency response service so that we can minimise harm to drivers and animals in the rare event when things do go wrong”, ALRTA president Kevin Keenan says.

“Over the past year, the ALRTA has taken a quantum leap in our approach to driver safety and animal welfare,” he says.

“Last January, we merged our TruckCare program with the industry leading TruckSafe program.

“In July we launched our National Guide for Safe Design of Livestock Loading Ramps and Forcing Yards.

“These programs aim to prevent safety and welfare incidents from occurring in the first place,” Keenan says.

LivestockASSIST is based on NTI’s successful AccidentASSIST service but tailored to suits the needs of the livestock sector, NTI technical manager Rob Waas explains.

“LivestockASSIST includes the usual response options such as vehicle recovery, medical assistance, driver repatriation, trauma counselling and message referral services.

“However, there are also special requirements when an incident involves livestock,” Waas says.

“Most importantly, special skills and equipment are needed to recover livestock from the vehicle, round up escaped animals that may be in shock and to make decisions about veterinary services.

“Together with the ALRTA we have established a network of local contacts with the expertise to respond rapidly and as appropriate,” Waas says.

“LivestockASSIST will help protect our industry by demonstrating that we are serious about preventing incidents from happening and about dealing with them properly when they do occur,” ALRTA VP Graeme Hoare says.

“NTI has been a long-term national sponsor of the ALRTA and their commitment to establishing LivestockASSIST demonstrates a deep understanding of the livestock transport task,” Hoare says.

The ALRTA and NTI have been distributing information packs to all members including stickers for trucks and trailers.

 

 

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