Milk tanker operator McColls is aiming to reduce truck rollovers

A study has found tankers were 2.4 times more likely to be involved in a major crash than other heavy vehicles.

McColl's Transport chief executive Simon Thornton said while roll-overs were rare, the company was a sponsor of the Spilt Milk: A National Crash Reduction Program for the Dairy Industry.

It's funded by the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator's (NHVR) Heavy Vehicle Safety Initiative and supported by the federal government and specialist insurer, NTI.

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Mr Thornton said McColl's was also a sponsor of the project, as well as one of several operators who had signed up for the program.

"Tankers get what is known as 'slosh', in them where the milk sloshes sideways," Mr Thornton said.

"If you go through an S-bend the centrifugal force pushes the milk to the outside of the tanker, then it moves back again.

"By the time you get to the third bend, it rolls you over".

McColl's had "a couple of hundred" tankers on the road in Victoria.

"If you are driving either a full, or empty, load, this wouldn't happen - when you have a half load is when you are in danger".

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NTI chief sustainability officer Chris Hogarty said four of the largest dairy carriers and three of the largest processors had signed on.

"While the dairy industry has a history of excellent, but isolated, initiatives to improve the safety performance of milk tankers, the aim of the 'Spilt Milk' project is to bring together key stakeholders, expertise, and initiatives, to deliver whole-of-industry solutions to this whole-of-industry issue," Mr Hogarty said.

He said a similar education program in Victoria's forestry industry resulted in a 65 per cent reduction in rollovers, from 29 in a year to the 2020 financial year being rollover free.

Mr Thornton said log trucks rolled, because of their centre of gravity.

He said Gippsland was "a challenge" because the roads contained so many twists and turns.

Western Victoria, particularly around the Otways, was also a cause for concern.

"The other place where we get stuck is where you have a reverse camber roundabout, which we have in some places".

Stability braking systems and driver training had improved safety, he said.

"Rollovers are quite rare, but they are always quite spectacular - when one rolls over it blocks the road, everyone is unhappy and we have to repair the tanker," he said.

Cornering alerts were also recorded in the prime mover and were checked by the company's maintenance staff.

"When we see someone who has been having cornering alerts, we can go back to that driver and say 'what's happening here?'," he said.

"The project will lead to more training for drivers and more awareness for drivers".

Mr Thornton said tanker driving was quite a specialised job.

"You really have to want to be a milk tanker driver," he said.

As it involved milk sampling and collection, which differed from farm to farm and processor to processor, drivers were often "invested" in the job, he said.

McColl's sought to employ the best drivers in the transport industry, he said.

NHVR chief executive Sal Petroccitto said keeping the Australian industry moving toward a safer and more sustainable future was the organisation's priority.

Mr Pettroccitto said the project had benefits for the entire dairy transport supply chain.

"Through 'Spilt Milk', drivers, fleet managers and maintenance providers across the dairy transport supply chain will receive targeted education to prevent rollovers and keep our industry and our roads safe," he said.

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