At the Road Freight NSW 2025 Conference and Awards, Adam Gibson, Transport Research Manager at NTI, showcased how industry-led projects are making a difference in truck safety. Drawing on NTI’s accident and insurance data, Gibson shared three major initiatives that have produced practical resources, now freely available through the National Road Safety Partnership Program (NRSPP) for the benefit of all operators.
Milk Tankers and Steep Hill Descents
One project began when NTI was asked to review the safety performance of bulk tankers. The data revealed that while fuel tankers were performing relatively well, dairy tankers faced higher risks due to farm pick-ups on narrow rural roads and steep descents.
“Each element of getting your truck off a big hill is not hard, but if you get it wrong, the consequences can be severe,” Gibson said.
Working with operators in the dairy industry, NTI co-designed resources to help drivers prepare for these conditions. What started as a focus on milk tankers expanded into a wider initiative on steep hill descents, recognising that the challenge applies across the transport sector.
The result was a suite of tools including training videos, open slide decks, and hill-specific information sheets that break down the risks and provide clear, practical advice. Real-world footage shows tankers negotiating gradients of up to 10%, giving drivers the confidence to make safe decisions before they reach the top of a descent.
“Our goal here is to help you, not to put our brand on stuff. We don’t give you a PDF, we give you the slide deck so you can adapt it for your drivers,” Gibson explained.
Importantly, these resources are freely available through the NRSPP, ensuring they can be used by the entire industry.
Truck Rollovers
The second initiative was an ALTRA project which tackled the ongoing challenge of truck rollovers, particularly in the livestock transport sector. NTI initially explored using electronic stability control (ESC) data to give drivers performance feedback, but equipment reliability made it difficult to collect results at scale.
Rather than shelving the project, Gibson said the focus shifted:
“What we needed to do was convince the livestock industry – and others – that it’s worth exploring again, particularly because of their exposure to single-vehicle rollover crashes.”
To build awareness, NTI supported demonstrations with equipment suppliers that showed the dramatic difference ESC technology can make. In one example, video footage showed a trailer lifting wheels on a skid pad, highlighting how close the vehicle came to rolling over before the safety systems intervened.
“These resources explain what the technologies are, why you should want them, and how they can save trucks, drivers and lives,” Gibson said.
Shared Learning for Safer Roads
Gibson stressed that NTI’s aim is not to produce branded material for its own customers, but to create open resources that the entire industry can use.
“These projects are about making our industry safer together,” he said. “Find the stuff, steal the stuff, use the stuff – that’s how we make ourselves and each other better.”
Whether it’s steep descent guides, milk tanker training packs, or rollover demonstration videos, the emphasis is on collaboration, accessibility, and practical outcomes.
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