Roads minister says cooperative approach to targeting speeding trucks has improved relations between authorities and the trucking industry
By Brad Gardner | February 20, 2013
A year-long enforcement blitz against speeding trucks in New South Wales has improved relations between authorities and the industry, according to Roads Minister Duncan Gay.
Speaking after the recent release of figures showing a 79 percent drop in speeding incidents over 12 months, Gay noted an improvement in the attitude of authorities and industry toward each other.
Police and the RMS began targeting heavy vehicles across the state in the wake of a triple-fatal involving a truck on the Hume Highway in January 2012, and Gay says “the great bulk” of the industry pledged support and worked with the agencies.
“Gone is the aggression between the police, Roads and Maritime Services and the trucking industry. It has been replaced by these three groups working together,” he says.
“The challenge for us in the future is to ensure that we keep it at this level without the return of that angst. That is a real challenge, and my department and that of the Minister for Police and Emergency Services [Michael Gallacher] appreciate that.”
Gay says the Transport Workers Union (TWU) was “absolutely outstanding” in its support and that the authorities now need to turn their attention to maintaining or lowering the rate of speeding incidents.
“The big challenge they now face is to keep the speeding at this level or lower. The second challenge we face is that it be done with goodwill,” he says.
Government figures show the number of heavy vehicles caught travelling at more than 105km/h fell by 79 percent. Of the 2,500 trucks inspected during the year-long operation, 93 were grounded for having non-compliant speed limiters.
