An industry-backed road safety trailer, which was relaunched in 2019 with a $400,000 taxpayer investment, has found a new home after sitting idle for several months.
Australian Trucking Association (ATA) director Andy Divall handed over the keys to the custom-built exhibition trailer to On The Road Media in Canberra today for a confidential price.
The new owners say they will continue to use it to campaign for road safety under the banner ‘Steering The Future’, and to also promote the transport industry as a career pathway.
Big Rigs understands that the donated Volvo FH Globetrotter that towed the eye-catching SafeT360 trailer was returned to Volvo HQ in Wacol last year and has since beeen sold.
Big Rigs also understands there had been some safety issues flagged with the trailer in the report that accompanied the expressions of interest (EOI) process last year, but ATA CEO Mathew Munro said they have since been resolved.
“The safety report was attached to the EOI we released publicly and we asked any potential transferee of that safety trailer to address those issues to our satisfaction,” Munro said.
“We recognise that the SafeT360 has been invested in by industry and government so we wanted that vehicle to go to a good home where it can continue its message to focus on safety in our industry, and we’re very confident that it has.”
Munro said the truck and trailer had been parked up for so long due to Covid restrictions.
“I think that gave everyone pause for thought about whether or not we continue with that or we whether we look for other options.
“I think where we landed is a good place to be. Not only is the trailer going to go out and continue the mission it’s been on in the past, we’ll also be running our own campaigns by different platforms.”
Munro said that involves social media-driven messaging on platforms such as Instagram and TikTok, aimed at a 16-25-year-old audience.
“We’ll be working with some partners to push those messages out.”
Munro said they should be up and running by March 2025, at the latest.
The ATA first commissioned the custom-built exhibition trailer in 2008. It has been the centre of three campaigns to educate visitors on how to share the road safely with trucks: the Road Ahead (2008-2013), the Safety Truck (2013-2018) and SafeT360 (2019-2022).
Munro believes it’s been a “good investment” for industry over that period.
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