WA backflips on new pictorial road train signage mandate

The announcement that new road train signs would be mandated in Western Australia was heavily criticised across the industry from the beginning – and now the state government has backflipped on the decision, with the new signs to be made voluntary.

New pictorial signs were rolled out from July 1, with operators told they would have until January 1, 2025, to switch over to the new signage, which would have been at their own cost.

Just seven weeks out from that deadline, the WA government has finally come up with a solution.

Instead of having to fork out thousands of dollars for new signage, operators will now have the option to use the existing ‘Road Train’ signage or the new pictorial signage.

Main Roads WA is yet to make an official public announcement with full details, however it is expected to come some time later today.

Western Roads Federation (WRF) has welcomed the move, with CEO Cam Dumesny telling Big Rigs, “The government admits there’s been a problem in the process and the communication about the new road train signage.

“We approached them and put a working group together and to their credit, they’ve listened. When the industry is united – ourselves at WRF, the livestock industry association (LRTAWA) and the TWU in WA – we can put our arguments forward and the government will listen.

Dumesny continued, “When you come back to basics, what the government was trying to do – and we don’t think it was the right solution – is to improve road safety.

“While we all support efforts to improve road safety I think we need to get truck drivers more engaged in road safety discussions because they are the professional drivers out on the road each day and we need to tap into the knowledge that they have.”

Asked whether he believes many operators will switch over to the new signage now that it’s voluntary, Dumesny says it’s unlikely. “It is very expensive to change over to the new signs and very cumbersome because when you’re changing combination lengths, you need to change your signs.”

Transport operator Darran Bairstow – who runs agricultural transport business Flexitrans, and up until recently held the role of president of the Livestock and Rural Transport Association of WA (LRTAWA) – has lobbied from the beginning to have the decision overturned.

He operates a fleet of 39 trailers and dollies, so the news this week has come as a welcome relief. “I had gotten written quotes to get the new signs. I was looking at $30,000, and now that’s $30,000 I don’t have to spend to change signs,” Bairstow said.

“I haven’t bought any of the new signs, I was holding out. I’m pretty happy with the outcome. But there are already a number of operators who have spent money on the new pictorial signage, so I don’t think dropping it all together would have been the right move. I think this was a good compromise.”

Bairstow revealed that he struggled find any operators who were supportive of the new signage. “Almost everyone I’ve spoken to was against it,” he added. “I think the government knew they had to do something.

“I’d like to thank the government for seeing that the industry wasn’t for this. Going forward it would be nice to see some consultation before these sorts of decisions are made. This could have been dealt with back in June if they spoke to industry before making the decision.

“But now, the right outcome has been made, the right decision has been made. I’d like to thank the Western Roads Federation, as well as TWU in WA for their support in this. They agreed with our stance on this, it wasn’t just one person who was against it. It was a whole-of-industry approach. This was industry standing up for industry to get a really good decision at the end of the day. When we stand together, we can make things happen.”

More to come.

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