Work safety rules are strangling the trucking industry and contributing to a huge shortage of drivers, veteran truck drivers say.
Trucking veterans say health and safety rules have lead to a drop in driver numbers. Photo: Supplied
Tighter work safety rules require truck passengers to go through a full induction on-site in places such as ports, quarries and forestry blocks.
Director of transport company Carr and Hasalm, Chris Carr, said that had resulted in young people - the "drivers of the future" - not being able to tag along with drivers in many situations.
"There are good reasons why you can't take a kid into some parts of the port but the whole induction process makes it quite difficult because a lot of companies will say, unless you're 18 years old or some arbitrary age that they nominate, then you can't take this person with you."
That was directly to blame for a huge drop in the number of new truck drivers, Mr Carr said.
Carr and Hasalm director Chris Carr. Photo: Supplied
"There's lots of people working in the transport industry who would take their kids along with them and those kids would become drivers of the future, now they haven't been in trucks for years and we're suffering a driver shortage as a result."
The shortage would soon come to a head, he said.
"Because everything comes to you on a truck.
"It's going to get to the point where you can't get stuff, and that's happening now. Not tomorrow or next week - we're in that situation now."
Sheehan's Transport Assistance owner Greg Sheehan said the tighter rules were strangling the ability for young people to learn about the industry by riding shotgun.
"The safety industry I agree with, we certainly have to have it.
"[But] when I grew up you had opportunities to learn things and you learnt what was safe and what was not safe ... but now there is no opportunity for young guys to have that type of on the job training anymore.
"It just isn't allowed to happen because regulators are worried we're endangering ourselves."
Many jobs were not being filled and people were "screaming for drivers", he said.
Greg Sheehan with his son Mike. Photo: Supplied
Employers were being forced to hire drivers without much on-road experience because they need jobs filled, he said.
"Some of those guys unfortunately end up taking on young people with little or no experience whatsoever."
Mr Sheehan said the poor pay and long hours also made the job unappealing.
There should be better initiatives in place for the trucking industry, he said.
"When you go to secondary school there are all sorts of technical courses that people can go through... There are opportunities to learn [practical skills] at school - but there is no opportunity to learn about road transport, even in its most basic form."
WorkSafe could promote a 'learn on the job' ticket, whereby a young person could be a recognised participant in road transport "as an offsider or riding shotgun in dad's truck or with any other adult prepared to show them the ropes and learn as they go", he said.
The young person could qualify as a learner through a tertiary programme, learning the basics of safe travel in a truck to and from various sites, and then learn on the job with an adult, he said.
Views do not reflect 'modern health and safety thinking'
WorkSafe refused an interview request from RNZ, but said in a statement they were aware of Mr Sheehan's views.
"These do not reflect modern health and safety thinking or the intention of the Health and Safety at Work Act (2015).
"The Act requires persons conducting business and undertakings to ensure the safety of the workforce and wider public in all work situations. This particularly applies in high-risk workplaces where haulage vehicles go."
WorkSafe said there was nothing in the act preventing young people as passengers in trucks on-site as long as all safety risks were taken into account and managed by the organisation responsible for on-site health and safety.
