Ia Ara Aotearoa Transporting New Zealand

The Road Transport Forum has long advocated for roadside drug testing and I am pleased that, finally, this could be the year it becomes a reality.

While the time it has taken for a testing regime to come about is frustrating, legislation introduced in 2020 should be in place this year, giving police the power to conduct random roadside saliva-based testing of drivers they suspect are under the influence of drugs.

From its establishment, the RTF has had a zero-tolerance policy on illegal drug use in the transport industry. I’m encouraged by the fact the majority of operators support our position and regularly carry out drug testing of their staff. It’s time all motorists we...

A common topic of conversation with truck drivers and road transport operators is the poor standard of driving they witness among other road users. 

Most of the time our professional drivers just shake their heads and laugh it off, but it’s impossible not to notice their anxiety at the daily exposure they have to substandard driving.

For those of us who don’t spend our working lives on the road, the Christmas holiday period once again laid out in stark detail just what an ongoing issue road safety is in New Zealand.

Eleven people were killed on the roads between Christmas Eve and January 5. It’s the highest holiday road toll since 2017 and adds to NZ’s pretty po...

A new micro-credential providing a comprehensive introduction to the commercial road transport industry was launched by industry training provider MITO and the Road Transport Forum over the summer.

The Introduction to Commercial Road Transport is designed for individuals who have left secondary school and are interested in a career in the road transport industry.

“Encouraging young people, particularly young women, to join our industry has been a major challenge for road transport for quite some time,” says RTF’s Nick Leggett.

“However, it’s not just about getting people into the industry – it is making sure that we provide those people with a reason to stay.

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If you listened exclusively to a number of media commentators you would think that the solution to transport’s environmental challenges was as straightforward as putting all freight on the train and switching our heavy vehicle fleet from the diesel-driven combustion engine to emissions-free electric power.

“Unfortunately, it is just not that simple,” says Road Transport Forum Chief Executive Nick Leggett.

“Neither the requirements of the freight task nor currently available vehicle technology make a move away from diesel-powered road freight likely in the short-term.” 

To put some context around it, New Zealand’s transport sector currently contributes around 20%...

The Road Transport Forum is excited to be on the cusp of launching the industry’s Te ara ki tua Road to success programme that seeks to assist road transport operators to recruit new trainees and get on top of our industry’s considerable workforce problems. 

“A huge amount of work has gone into working with both the industry and government to develop the programme and we believe that over the next five to 10 years it can, if the industry continues to support it, play a major role in helping operators take on new staff,” says RTF chief executive Nick Leggett. 

“We know from an extensive workforce survey we did with over 600 operators in early 2020, and through las...