Phillip Brooks of the NSW Police says speed limiter tampering is back, highlighting the Chain of Responsibility implications.
In a LinkedIn post, Phillip Brooks, manager stakeholder relations, traffic and highway patrol command with the NSW Police Force says the issue of speed limiter tampering is ‘back, bolder than ever,’. Brooks referred to a recent breach where he believes Chain of Responsibility (CoR) could come into play.
“At a time when CoR laws have placed Exec Officer liability up front, the risk to business & individuals is very real, & quite possible for those in the ‘Chain of Responsibility’,” he says.
“Remember, someone has actually had to do this, potentially in front of others.
“How is it that routine checks & balances miss this, particularly in an era of technology that would detect such anomalies.”
Brooks confirms that it was, “yes, a national fleet / carrier,” an alarming detail.
Near-miss dascham footage raises roadtrain speed limit questions. Watch here
The particularly case discussed in the post occurred on 18 October and involved a semitrailer travelling at 125km/h in a 100km/h zone.
“Driver admitted to tampering with speed limiter by placing small wedges in the pulse wheel,” Brooks explains.
“Wedges removed by the driver and seized.”
Owner//Driver contacted the NSW Roads and Maritime Services for data showing that this issue is on the rise, but we were given a general statement instead.
“Roads and Maritime Services is aware most heavy vehicle operators understand the importance of vehicle safety, encourage good driver behaviour and are developing safety management systems to monitor and maintain driver and vehicle compliance,” the RMS spokesperson says.
“As part of the Roads and Maritime risk based, outcome focus compliance activities, Roads and Maritime is working closely with the NSW Police to target heavy vehicles that have been modified to exceed the maximum 100km/h speed capacity as required under the Australian Design Rules.
“Using various data sources, Roads and Maritime is able to detect and identify non complying heavy vehicles exceeding the 100km/h limit.”
READERS: Is this issue back, or has it always been happening? Send us a message if you’ve seen it happening out on the roads.
Photography: Greg Bush