Type 2 routes extended across Queensland

While some challenges still plague these developments, access for multi-combination vehicles to saleyards and abattoirs have meant significant changes to how the industry operates.

Livestock and Rural Transport Association of Queensland vice-president Mark Collins said under curfew, Type 2 road trains can now unload at the Roma Saleyards, and JBS Abattoir, Townsville.

"This is a major win, particularly for the cattle bound for the Roma Saleyards, as we have seen this point moved from Morven to Mitchell, and now directly into the saleyards," Mr Collins said.

"As an association, we have done a lot of work to get these accesses, and even though they are a win, the restrictions do cause us problems.

"If a driver misses the curfew deadline, it is another 12 hour wait and that is not feasible so he ends up decoupling anyway. The curfew hours from 7pm to 7am do not help us manage our driver fatigue."

He said it was disappointing the temporary breakdown site at Gatton, built to accommodate traffic from the Toowoomba Second Range Crossing, was inadequate for decoupling livestock trailers.

Mr Collins said another industry positive was the MLA Fit to Load guidelines released in July 2019, as more and more pressure is being placed on animal welfare.

According to a Transport and Main Roads spokesperson, another two Type 2 road train decoupling points have been added - one at Jondaryan, with access from the Warrego Highway, and another on the Gregory Highway from Emerald to Clermont.

There has also been a new rest area built north of Emerald on the Gregory Highway as part of the Heavy Vehicle Safety and Productivity Program. This rest area is also used as a decoupling facility by industry with sufficient room for trailer storage.

Access for Type 1 road trains directly to the North Rockhampton abattoirs opened on July 1, 2017, under permit from the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator.

A TMR spokesperson said more than 90 operators were issued road train permits to access the Rockhampton abattoirs this year - a significant increase from the 40 permits issued in 2017 and 70 permits in 2018.

"At this stage, there are no plans to extend the curfew past the current 7pm to 7am restrictions," he said.

Livestock effluent still remains a hot topic in south east Queensland, with livestock transporters frustrated by the lack of disposal pits available to them.

A TMR spokesperson said that effective management of animal effluent during transport was a complex matter.

"We are working closely with industry and the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator on a holistic approach to better manage effluent spills," the spokesperson said.

"There is certainly a need for more dump sites. However, industry is responsible for developing and managing dump facilities to manage effluent storage on livestock vehicles."

The TMR spokesperson said livestock operators needed to plan appropriately for their journey, including stops at existing dump facilities on their route, and this was not the responsibility of TMR.

"However, we provide opportunities within our road planning to facilitate these sites in partnership with industry," he said.

"We are currently undertaking planning for a potential dump site in the southeast corner."

Livestock transport operator George Johnston, Toowoomba, said he has 100 litre effluent tanks fitted to each side of his B-double trailers.

"That gives us a combined 400 litre capacity and they fill in under a six hour period," Mr Johnston said.

He added that he had relocated his business in order to manage the effluent problem. "An animal will lose between three to five per cent of their body weight in the first three hours of a journey," he said.

The family-owned Frasers Livestock Transport currently operate a fleet of 52 Kenworth prime movers and 150 trailers in single, double, B-double, B-triple and road train configurations.

Frasers Livestock Transport director Ross Fraser said they had added another six prime movers and increased their trailers from 100 to 150 in the past ten years.

"One reason for the increase was an increase in our client base, while another factor was the expansion of feedlots in southern Queensland, which is a large part of our business," Mr Fraser said.

"A huge part of the past decade has been in drought somewhere in Queensland, plus the added pressure of the past couple of years."

Mr Fraser said staff safety was paramount and their first priority.

"In the past decade, we have introduced improvements in airbag suspension, crate design and trailer technology along with the installation of GPS tracking which allows centralised operation monitoring and route-tracking," he said.

"I can log on via my iPhone and locate any one of our trucks, at any time. Our mechanics can monitor engine management, and on-board computers relay detailed reports on acceleration, braking and cornering, all of which helps improve safety and overall fleet maintenance."

Mr Fraser said the latest monitoring technology to be installed, Seeing Machines, tracks driver alertness and identifies distraction events. An unobtrusive in-car camera continuously monitors the driver's face and eyes, and the system relays real-time data and video back to base, where it can be synchronised with other vehicle or data inputs.

In the past five years, Frasers have added a depot in Toowoomba for staff to decouple their trailers, as it is the end of the road train route, before heading down the range. A state of the art multi-level cross-loading ramp has been installed at both the Toowoomba and Gracemere depots.