Victoria's transport authority will target law-breaking heavy vehicle operators with a renewed focus, it says
VicRoads will keep up the pressure on heavy vehicle drivers to ensure they continue to abide by the state’s road laws, after courts handed down one of its heaviest penalties in recent years.
The company behind an overlength and overweight vehicle intercepted near the Port of Melbourne in late 2017 was fined $90,000 in June after being found guilty of heavy vehicle non-compliance.
In comments supplied to ATN, VicRoads director of heavy vehicle services Eric Henderson says the authority does not plan to stop that scrutiny any time soon.
As ATN reported last week, the vehicle was 15 tonnes overweight. Click here to read more
“The heavy vehicle operator convicted in court recently was operating a vehicle that was too small for the load of manufacturing materials it was carrying,” Henderson says.
“VicRoads will continue to identify and target heavy vehicle operators who fail to comply with the law.”
VicRoads Transport Safety Service officers are authorised to issue on-the-spot fines to drivers of vehicles that do not comply with the law, in order to ensure compliance with Road Safety Road Rules and the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL).
On average, VicRoads Transport Safety Services team issue 232 infringements for non-compliant drivers and defect 227 trucks per month throughout the state, VicRoads says.
The offences include unsecured loads, unlicensed drivers, over height and overweight vehicles and a range of other offences.