This week's Truckie Tuesday: a new independently-verified report finds heavy-vehicle bridge strikes are costing the Australian economy $101 million a year — 1,220 incidents in the last 12 months, up 38% since 2018. Rod Hannifey and Luke Bona dig into why, including Rod's own story about a bridge clearance sign that was never updated after the road underneath it was resurfaced.

Plus: copper thieves targeting EV chargers and streetlights around the country, a new industry survey seeking every transport worker's voice on mental health, Rod's take on whether the NHVR's fatigue-blitz statistics tell the full story, a visit from NSW Minister Jenny Aitchison, Senator Bridget McKenzie confirmed for a coming episode, an update on the Great Western Highway works, a heartfelt tribute to trucking legend Toots Holzheimer, and a Legal Win of the Week from Hughes Law's Belinda Hughes.

Guests: Rod Hannifey (Truckie Tuesday co-host, National Road Freighters Association) · Belinda Hughes (Principal, Hughes Law)

(00:00) Cold Open & Where's Rodney

(01:30) Feedback Of The Week: The Truck Chain Mystery

(06:45) Mobile Blackspots On The Highway

(08:16) Copper Thieves Target EV Chargers

(13:00) NatRoad Connect 26 & Industry Structure

(15:01) NSW Minister Jenny Aitchison Visits Dubbo

(16:37) Great Western Highway Works & Bathurst 1000

(21:33) Tribute: Toots Holzheimer

(24:07) Mental Health Survey & The Fatigue Blitz Debate

(29:13) $101 Million A Year In Bridge Strikes

(32:01) Hughes Law: Two Wins Of The Week

(36:01) Where's Rodney? Plus Rod's Rant

(39:35) Sign-Off

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Three heavy-vehicle licence assessors have been pulled from the NSW scheme and referred to police after a joint Transport for NSW/NHVR crackdown across Tweed Heads and Lismore. Rod Hannifey and Luke Bona ask what it means for every driver those assessors trained — and a listener writes in with an anonymous, unverified account of "brown paper bag" backhanders allegedly pushing safe local trucking contracts to cheaper, non-local operators.

Plus: a $100 million funding boost for the Great Western Highway's Blue Mountains rebuild, a $10,000 free training pathway launching for Cairns jobseekers, the NHVR's latest fatigue blitz results (6,100+ heavy vehicles checked, non-compliance on the rise), a Legal Win of the Week from Hughes Law's Belinda Hughes, and Rod's rant on logbook fines that treat honest paperwork mistakes as deceit.

Guests: Rod Hannifey (Truckie Tuesday co-host, National Road Freighters Association) · Belinda Hughes (Principal, Hughes Law)

(00:00) Cold Open & Intro

(01:04) $10,000 Free Training For Cairns Jobseekers

(03:30) $100M For The Great Western Highway

(06:27) NHVR Fatigue Blitz Results

(09:31) 3 Licence Assessors Referred To Police

(12:07) A Listener's Backhander Warning

(17:09) Hughes Law: Win Of The Week

(20:59) Rod's Rant: Weighbridge And Logbook Fines

(24:06) Sign-Off

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He's the last touring boxing-tent showman left in the world, and 74 years old hasn't slowed him down. Outback legend Fred Brophy joins Luke Bona and vice captain Adam McDonald in the Man Cave for the full story — jail time at Pentridge, a run-in with Mark "Chopper" Read, deliberately cutting off his own finger, and why he says he's still got a few more years left in him.

Also this episode: is it really the worst time in 56 years to buy a first home in Australia? Motley Fool Chief Investment Officer Scotty Phillips joins Luke Bona to explain why the deposit — not the mortgage repayment — is the real barrier for young buyers, and the case against early access to superannuation. Dr Rob Zammit on the world-first program racing to vaccinate Phillip Island's penguin colony against H5N1 bird flu. Legal eagle James Glissan breaks down the Sydney Swans investigation and the presumption of innocence, plus the latest on Erin Patterson's appeal against her conviction.

⚠ Content warning: this episode's Man Cave segment includes a guest's own account of jail time, a serious injury, and past self-harm, with strong, unbleeped language. Also discusses a Victoria Police investigation into an alleged incident involving Sydney Swans players (unconfirmed, no charges laid) and a separate criminal matter involving minors. Listener discretion advised.

Guests: Fred Brophy · Scotty Phillips (The Motley Fool Australia) · Dr Rob Zammit · James Glissan (Glissan & Associates) · Adam McDonald (Evans Hastings Auctions)

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