A veteran transport operator has issued a stark warning about what he says is an urgent safety crisis developing on the nation’s roads – driven by a growing number of poorly trained overseas drivers entering the trucking industry.

Speaking anonymously to radio host Ben Fordham on 2GB earlier today, the East Coast-based fleet operator, known only as “Greg”, claimed the problem has been “getting worse” and is being ignored by authorities.

“They’re just lack of concern, like their lack of infrastructure, like their trucks and all that, not maintaining them. It’s just getting bad,” said Greg, who runs a fleet of 50 to 60 trucks across the eastern states, when asked about his concerns.

He said the issue became more prominent during the Covid years, when the transport industry was booming, and a wave of overseas drivers entered the market. But with freight volumes now tapering off, many of the same operators are still active and cutting corners on safety and compliance, said Greg.

“It’s not about race,” Fordham told listeners. “It’s about rules – trucks on the road with no insurance, forged defect clearances, dangerous vehicles, unpaid bills and a system that seems happy to look the other way.”

Greg shared firsthand accounts of inexperienced drivers getting into trouble, including during recent east coast flooding.

“When the coast road shut, they ended up in back roads… trying to avoid the road closures and got themselves entangled, messes everywhere,” he said.

He also raised concerns that many international drivers are still operating on overseas licences, with little to no formal training on Australian road rules.

“You would have hoped so, but I think a lot are coming through on an international licence and just getting them and off they go,” Greg said. “To me, it seems like they’re not abiding by the rules or complying… it gets pretty tough.”

When asked how these operators get away with using forged defect notices or dodgy paperwork, Greg replied: “Well, I don’t think they understand. They just think they’ve got to get the freight there, and off they go, and we can’t stop them.”

While Greg acknowledged there are “some really good ones out there”, he said others “just don’t care or don’t understand”, adding that some drivers are either out of their depth or deliberately ignoring the rules.

He said the lack of compliance from some international operators was placing significant pressure on legitimate transport companies.

“We’re trying to compete with some of the major companies here. Of late, we’ve had to do a few audits too that we’ve never done in the past, and I feel as though they’re sort of auditing us to tick their chain of responsibility box to make them look good, knowing that these other guys are going to fail.”

Greg also warned that many of these operators are running uninsured and poorly maintained trucks, undermining safety on Australian roads.

“Well, you can’t [compete]. A lot of them aren’t even getting insurance and paying for all that… they’re out there cutting the rate… and our costs are rising.”

He added: “Do you really want your family travelling up and down the road with these trucks having bad steering components or braking components or whatever it may be? They’re 65-tonne, a lot of them, so it’s a big hunk of metal coming down the road that’s not compliant, or the driver doesn’t understand.”

Greg said he was aware of trucks being towed after major accidents only for it to be discovered they had no insurance.

The story was backed up by another caller to the program, Bruce, a compliance and training professional who audits transport companies on behalf of the government.

“He’s on the money,” Bruce said. “There is some terrific guys out there… but there’s a hell of a lot out there, and they’re very substandard compared to just how compliant the transport industry is.”

Bruce said he had been reluctant to speak out due to fears of being labelled racist.

“I’ve cringed for so long about the racist aspect of it… but really what it boils down to is the rules,” he said. “The problem we’ve got with the international guys coming out here is that they’re allowed to come out and drive for around six months and don’t have to have anything done with their licence.”

Bruce added that many of the companies operating in this way are not formal transport businesses at all.

“You can have a bobcat and go out and buy a very large truck, and you’re not a trucking company. You’re just a bloke that has a truck.”

He said many truck stops were now being used as de facto depots by international drivers with no proper base of operations – further highlighting the lack of oversight.

Fordham ended the segment with a call for action.

“I don’t know who is going to step up and clamp down on this, but at least you’ve raised the alarm today.”