SAFETY in the road transport industry is a tricky one, it relies on everything from fatigue management through to relying on regular road users to do the right thing.

Of all the safety focuses at the moment, training is one that is always cropping up.

General manager at Major Training Matthew Tenkate said the transport industry faces a driver training disconnect and requires more synergy between regulators and industry.

"Ultimately safety is a culture thing, and it starts from the top and everyone's got to be on board,” Mr Tenkate said.

"Good training comes with a quality safety culture, not just doing what're required to tick a box.

"The problem is when you talk to the industry about what they want, there's a disconnect between the regulating body, and what industry is asking for.”

Mr Tenkate said it's about training people to do more than just sit in a truck and drive, it's about taking quality operators out into the industry.

"The system needs to align with industry, they need to come together and agree to a standard,” he said.

"Driving a truck is more than just sitting behind a steering wheel, you need to be able to cut it.

"Those extra parts of driving a truck; fatigue management, load restraint, how to work in the transport industry.”

According to Mr Tenkate, the reality is that there are so many trailer combinations yet the tests are really quite simple.

"There are now so many different configurations of trucks, you can't teach for everything, but when you're training for the lowest common denominator, it's very hard to offer really good training.”

Major Training has managed to work around this through opting for experienced trainers, a passionate workforce and strong industry connections.

"Our guys are passionate about it,” Mr Tenkate said.

"Some trainers out there are better than others, but we all have the same opinion here, it's about people leaving and being a representative of major.

"We've had guys get their truck licence with another provider, and their work then sends them to us to learn how to properly reverse.

"The price at some of these trainers is cheap, but they might put multiple people in the truck and they don't get the seat time.

"We put them in the truck one on one.”

Major Training simulates real-world truck driving with their fleet of training vehicles and machinery, and they've quickly developed a reputation for offering high-quality training.