Seven hundred free load restraint packs have been made available at local rural supply stores, agricultural machinery retailers and motorcycle shops across the Parkes, Forbes and Lachlan Shire Council areas as part of a Council-led education campaign.
The packs include a copy of the Load Restraint Guide 2018, a card featuring the links to locally produced how-to videos for safely transporting hay bales, machinery and general freight, along with accompanying fact sheets and case studies.
The Councils’ Road Safety and Injury Prevention Officer, Melanie Suitor said the load restraint packs were the final strategy of the Councils’ recent Load Restraint Education Project.
“When we finished the Load Restraint Village Tour in mid-June we had some unspent project funds,” said Ms Suitor.
“Based on the feedback from the village tour attendees, we decided that additional load restraint packs would be the best way to use the funding and also increase load restraint awareness.
“Many of the farmers we met didn’t know that there was a Load Restraint Guide or how to get a copy of it. If you transport anything, it’s a valuable resource.
“The packs were collated in July and unfortunately due to the COVID situation in NSW we have been unable to get the packs to local stores to distribute to their customers until now,” she said.
The Load Restraint Guide 2018 provides truck drivers, operators, and everyone in the transport chain of responsibility with basic safety principles for the safe carriage of loads. The guide reflects the latest heavy vehicle technology and load restraint practices. It includes detailed diagrams, worked examples and is broken into separate commodities.
“I encourage local farmers and truck drivers to collect their free load restraint pack from their local rural supply store, agricultural machinery retailer or motorcycle shop while stocks last,” Ms Suitor.
Four hundred load restraint packs have been earmarked for local NSW Rural Fire Service Brigades and NSW Farmers branch members to distribute once face to face meetings resume.
The project was an initiative of Parkes, Forbes and Lachlan Shire Councils’ Road Safety Program, with support from NSW Police, NSW Farmers and Transport for NSW. The project was funded by the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator’s Heavy Vehicle Safety Initiative, which is supported by the Federal Government.
