Vic Police liaison officer pledges review

Date: 08.03.2012

Victoria’s new police transport-liaison officer is reviewing transport committees and agencies to ensure their work is harmonised. <br /><br /> Superintendent Neville Taylor, who has taken over from Superintendent David Newton, wants to see a more “streamlined” structure that will see different groups work as one.

Ruza Zivkusic-Aftasi | March 8, 2012

Victoria’s new police transport-liaison officer is reviewing transport committees and agencies to ensure their work is harmonised.

Superintendent Neville Taylor, who has taken over from Superintendent David Newton, wants to see a more "streamlined" structure that will see different groups work as one.

He wants to review and reaffirm the arrangements between WorkSafe, VicRoads and Victoria Police in relation to chain of responsibility investigations, saying it’s not unusual for new management to conduct a "timely" review of things.

"It’s not a matter of restructuring for the sake of restructuring," Taylor says.

"We all agree that it’s timely to have a look at our structures so we can make sure agencies and industries have got something they can commit to and work together."

Some of the old ways and forms
that hinder efficiency and cooperation
are under threat.

"We plan to cut away what’s developed over the years that we believe is no longer contributing to that and get a commitment from the right sectors of the industry and agencies to be able to contribute to whatever the structure looks like," Taylor says.

"I think the commitment is there but over time the structure blows out for various reasons and sometimes it’s easy to lose sight of what it is actually that we’re doing here."

He wants to improve the investigation of the chain of responsibility and road worthiness of heavy vehicles, saying the industry needs to take a more responsible approach around those issues.

"This came out of looking at results from enforcement operations by police and VicRoads throughout the last 12 months," Taylor says.

"The data shows that there’s clearly an issue around unroadworthy vehicles, particularly braking, and that’s presenting a major risk not only to the industry and drivers but to road safety as well.

"The less involvement in heavy vehicles around road trauma there is, the better it is for the reputation of the industry."

Taylor, who has been in the force for 34 years, transitioned into his new role late last year.