Queensland roads department relaxes FIRS restrictions to allow trucks to deliver freight to areas in need
By Brad Gardner | January 14, 2011
The Queensland roads department will relax federal truck licence restrictions during the state’s flood crisis to get freight delivered to areas in need.
The Department of Transport and Main Roads today granted a request from the trucking industry to allow vehicles under the federal interstate registration scheme (FIRS) to work intrastate.
FIRS is designed for trucks that deliver freight interstate and bans the vehicles from carrying freight within state and territory borders.
“The department has taken the decision to grant permission for all FIRS registered vehicles to undertake both pick-up and delivery in the state of Queensland up to and including 31 January 2011. The arrangement will be reviewed at that date,” Main Roads says in a statement.
Main Roads says it has spoken to the Motor Accident Insurance Commission, which has supported its decision and will inform insurers. Police will also be advised.
Recovery efforts are beginning across Queensland as waters recede and roads reopen. Areas in parts of Queensland such as Rockhampton and Cairns are only just being reconnected as engineers monitor the damage caused to the network from the worst natural disaster in the state’s history.