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NSW Police probes fleet linked to fatality

Officers respond to incident with two-day company blitz

 

NSW Police has spent two days examining a truck fleet linked to a fatal hit-and-run in Sydney’s CBD last week.

On February 12, a 21-year-old man was fatally struck by a waste truck on Central Street.

The truck driver, understood to be a contractor for a Sydney waste firm, was arrested the same day and was charged with several offences, including manslaughter and failing to stop and assist.

The Traffic and Highway Patrol Command’s Traffic Task Force, working with Transport for NSW inspectors, conducted the compliance operation on Tuesday and Wednesday (February 18 and 19) targeting a Western Sydney transport operator.

A total of 27 heavy vehicles were inspected at the Wetherill Park Heavy Vehicle Inspection Station, with 26 issued with minor defect notices in relation to broken tail lights, missing reflectors, engine oil leaks, brake issues and body support braces cracked, broken or insecure.

Four were found to have non-compliant electronic control modules (ECM) allowing the trucks to drive at above 100km/h, with one of those was issued a major defect for reaching 112km/h.


More than 700 trucks were checked in one of the year’s first major blitzes


There has been no suggestion the condition of the vehicle contributed to February 12’s incident.

Rather, the focus has been on “heavy vehicle compliance . . . to ensure trucks, drivers and operators are utilising the road network safely and responsibly”, Traffic and Highway Patrol operations manager Chief Inspector Simon Maund says in a statement.

“This is the first heavy vehicle compliance operation of 2020 and there will be more to come throughout the year as we work with owners, operators and drivers to ensure their trucks are compliant.

“There is no excuse for complacency, especially when lives are put at risk and these operations will keep dangerous drivers off our roads.”

Transport for NSW director compliance Roger Weeks says his department “will continue to work with industry and NSW Police to ensure compliance levels can be lifted and systemic safety failures are stamped out”.

 

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