Police slam sloppy understanding and compliance in load restraint and loading practices
The focus of New South Wales authorities on loading practices and compliance issues at distribution centres continues with action at three in Western Sydney.
NSW Police say Operation Condor, a joint initiative with Roads and Maritime Services (RMS), was sparked by a recent incident where pallets of bottled water fell from a truck onto a road.
Following February’s dawn raid on Coles’ Smeaton Grange facility, the unnamed facilities saw officers and inspectors at premises in Huntingwood, Pemulwuy and Liverpool, where they conducted load restraint compliance checks.
Load restraint was also the focus of Operation Steel Six early last month.
Of the 16 trucks inspected in total, 15 were found to be non-compliant and managers were subsequently directed to properly secure loads before departure.
“Trucks leaving distribution centres with loads secured incorrectly is a serious threat to other road users and the Joint Heavy Vehicle Taskforce won’t tolerate such poor management practices,” Traffic and Highway Patrol Commander Acting Assistant Commissioner Stuart Smith says.
“Of most concern were restraint guidelines filled out by the operator and supplied to drivers suggesting their loads were compliant with a 1991 standard in New Zealand.
“This is totally unacceptable, and police will be making further inquiries regarding this.”
RMS underlines that the operation aims to ensure all levels of industry fully understand and comply with load restraint and loading practices.
“This is about ensuring all parties in the logistic supply chain, from the consignor and loader to the consignee or receiver, are fully aware of their Chain of Responsibility obligations and take action now,” RMS Director of Safety and Compliance for Peter Wells says.
“Roads and Maritime will pursue all parties in the chain when breaches of these requirements are found and sanctions and prosecution may result from non-compliance.
“Distributions centres, manufacturers and others in the logistics supply chain need to ensure proper loading and restraint practices are in place and being used for their loads.
“If these loads move in transit, it can damage the goods or the vehicle, and obviously it’s a serious safety threat.
“Proper load restraint is paramount to ensure the safety of all road users in NSW and will be a continued focus of the Roads and Maritime and NSW Police Joint Heavy Vehicle Task Force.”