Mad fibreglass, plastic and steel...

Driving hundreds of kilometres a day, truckie Maurice Rapsey churns out poetry to the rhythm of the road.

Heavy heart

Heavy load

There's no yellow brick road

Or kindness code

And there's still more miles to do...

The Wodonga resident has been driving trucks for ten years, but the story hasn't changed.

Australia's trucking industry is in a crisis, which Mr Rapsey said will only get worse.

The list of problems seems as long as the trailer he's hauling up the highway.

"Regulations, and the way people treat each other, the parking bays, the road conditions, the conditions full stop when you pull up, lack of toilets, showers," he said.

"The fines have gotten dearer, there's less and less mates out on the road."

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A Transport Workers Union survey last year revealed nearly half of truckies knew a driver killed on the job and one in two experienced wage theft.

The current national shortage of drivers is expected to get worse as the ageing workforce retires.

The diesel doesn't blow for home no more

With hardened hands

Blood shot eyes

And our body is sold to an office jock's pen

And another soul is laid to rest...

Mr Rapsey said he wants to see change - a lot of change.

He wants better education for car drivers to be safe around trucks, he wants politicians to do something, he wants truck drivers to be able to have passengers to keep them company, share the driving and learn the trade, and he wants more young people to consider working in the industry.

"They've got to make better conditions for a start," he said.

There's parts of the job Mr Rapsey likes, but it's not enough.

"It hasn't been a bad lifestyle ... I could show you some beautiful photos and I write poetry, I write a few songs, you meet some interesting people.

"I'm paid to have a look around, I'm enjoying it, but it's keeping me single too.

"I've been married to a job and I want to divorce it."

Mr Rapsey gives himself five more years in the job before he calls quits.

He said if there's no change soon, everyone will notice.

"Prepare to pay more and prepare to wait for your freight," he said.

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