Peak bodies welcome move to tighten rules on heavy vehicles travelling at more than 115 km/h
March 14, 2012
Two top industry representative bodies have swung behind the hard line in NSW on speeding trucks.
Both the Australian Trucking Association (ATA) and NatRoad backed NSW Roads and Ports Minister Duncan Gay’s move to ground trucks caught travelling at more than 115 km/h.
The NSW move came after allegations of speed limiter tampering made during NSW Police and Roads and Maritime Service actions against Lennons Transport and Scott’s Transport, known as Operation Marshall and Operation Overland respectively.
The ATA says it has long argued that any truck found travelling on the flat at more than 100 kilometres per hour should be issued with a defect notice, because it must, by definition, have a defective speed limiter.
It has also called for trucks found travelling at more than 115 kilometres per hour should be grounded until the defect is cleared.
While insisting the small number who did not comply with the laws should face sanctions, ATA CEO Stuart St Clair echoed his organisation’s NSW branch in his concern for perishables.
“Yet whilst it is important to ground those trucks and drivers immediately, it is also vital that the freight not be held up, particularly if it is perishable,” St Clair says.
“As a result, the defect notice should only apply to the prime mover and not the trailer.”
NatRoad CEO Christopher Melham was also full of praise for the initiative.
“There is no place in the road transport sector for rogues blatantly breaking the law by speeding or tampering with speed limiters – these rogues are a threat to society and need to be weeded out by law enforcement officers,” Mr Melham says.
“NatRoad acknowledges that there must be strong action taken against offenders and we welcome our inclusion on the Minister’s Leadership Forum so we can work with government and industry to design strategies to help stamp out this dangerous behaviour.
“I am also encouraged by the recent cooperation between cross jurisdictional law enforcement agencies and expect this cooperation to continue to ensure the smooth transition to the establishment of the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator on 1 January 2013.”