Truckies have it pretty good, really. They’ve got their own network of CB radios to talk to each other. They’ve got Truck and Bus magazine. They’ve got truck stops. Now they have their very own podcast, about trucks, and it’s from Australia’s very own National Heavy Vehicle Regulator. Podcasts aren’t all Serial and This American Life, guys.
It makes sense: truckies spend a lot of time in the cabs of their trucks, and there’s not a great deal you can legally do while you’re driving apart from listening to music or podcasts. So that’s the medium that the NHVR has chosen to deliver a series of short messages to Australia’s truck drivers around the nation, educating them on how they can modify their vehicles — a super-common truckie pastime — from manufacturers’ specifications.
NHVR’s safety director Daniel Elkins, unsurprisingly, thinks the podcasts are a good idea: “By providing different ways to access the latest information about vehicle safety standards and modifications we are aiming to improve industry’s knowledge to promote compliance.” The NHVR’s job is to make sure that all the heavy vehicles tracking up and down the coast and around the country are compliant with its regulations, including signing off on complex modifications. These podcasts are designed to teach truckies how to make those modifications properly.
Keen? Well, without further ado, here are the first five heavy vehicle standards audio podcasts for you to sink your ears into:
Changes To Heavy Vehicle Safety Standards
Vehicle Standards And Semi-Trailer Rear Bumpers
Vehicle Modifications: Fitting Bodies And Tow Couplings
Vehicle Modifications: Backlit Badges And Logos
Vehicle Standards: Driving Lamps And LED Lightbars