Truckie David Noel has kicked off a Facebook page calling for a move to US-style length regulations, measuring length from the ‘forward most king pin back’
David kicked off the petition on 2 November and in just 48 hours he had more than 400 likes, with the page continuing to grow in size at the time of writing.
Owner//Driver caught up with David, who tells us the idea stems from the increased focus on fatigue.
“I’m about six foot tall, so I’m not the biggest guy, but I can’t lay flat in a lot of bunks,” David says.
“It’s a fatigue issue!”
While he isn’t currently driving interstate, the idea of a petition to change length regulations has been on David’s mind for a decade.
“I drive tankers at the moment, but I’ve done quite a few years of interstate and with such tiny bunks, people have to essentially live in those all week.
“It’s not fun, and I’ve had the idea for about ten years to create some awareness around trying to change the way we measure length.
“You couldn’t get the issue out there back then but now with Facebook you can,” he says.
The plan from here on in, David explains, is to see how much support he gets on the page before contacting the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR).
“My idea is to get a good follow on the issue and then contact the regulator and show the support it’s got.
“I want to ask if there something we can do about this.
“It’s a big ask, but it has to start with one person,” he says.
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