Two deaths, four injuries and a near miss mar day on the roads in state
Trucking industry observers in New South Wales are waiting on the reaction of the authorities after a truck crash killed two people and injured four others in circumstances reminiscent of January’s Dubbo incident.
Emergency services responded yesterday afternoon to reports of a crash involving a truck and five cars, northbound on the M1, just north of the Mooney Mooney bridge, near Gosford.
On arrival, officers found a truck had crashed into the back of one of the cars and caught fire.
Two men, believed to be aged 19 and 52, who were travelling in a Ford utility died when the truck and dog crashed into the back of their vehicle.
According to a police report, a 30-year-old male truck driver was charged with two counts of dangerous driving occasioning death and one count of dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm.
He was also charged with negligent driving occasioning death and negligent driving occasioning grievous bodily harm.
His licence was suspended and he was granted conditional bail to appear in Gosford Local Court on August 21.
Police will inspect the truck company’s fleet in coming days to ensure they are safe.
The earlier crash killed two and injured eight others when they were stationary at roadworks.
Read the results of the most recent truck and dog blitz in NSW here
Meanwhile, Traffic and Highway Patrol Command reports that a car driver and passenger avoided serious injury after a large piece of metal fell from a dog trailer being pulled on the M4, in Sydney’s west yesterday.
The car driver and her passenger were not injured.
A short time later, the truck driver, a 56-year-old Condell Park man, stopped his vehicle at the Burnett Street exit.
Police attended and the truck and trailer were escorted to the Roads and Maritime Heavy Vehicle Inspection Station at Wetherill Park.
Inspections revealed the truck weighed more than 51 tonnes, more than the 42.5 tonne limit.
Further inquiries revealed that the trailer was the subject of an outstanding defect notice.
An inspection of the prime mover found that the brakes were out of alignment, with the brakes blowing during the inspection.
Roads and Maritime Service (RMS) inspectors issued a Major Grounded Defect notice to the vehicle.
RMS inspectors are continuing inquiries into an alleged weight breach involving the trailer.
Traffic and Highway Patrol Commander, assistant commissioner Michael Corboy says people could have been seriously injured or killed by the metal
“Our Traffic and Highway Patrol Command Officers work together with RMS inspectors to ensure safety on our roads,” Corboy says.
“To have an already defective trailer in a poor state, overweight, and being pulled by what is a defective truck is simply not good enough.
“Those across the heavy vehicle industry know how we operate to ensure safety, and the company involved can expect further attention from police and the RMS, to ensure their fleet, their drivers, and the company is safe and able to operate on our roads.
“We take heavy vehicle safety seriously, so should all of those in the industry, from the steering wheel to the board room.”
RMS director of compliance Roger Weeks said safety is the highest priority.
“Fortunately the majority of truckies and companies do the right thing, but this shocking example shows that there is still more work to be done,” Weeks says.
“Roads and Maritime Services will continue to work with industry and law enforcement to ensure compliance levels can be lifted and systemic safety failures stamped out.
“Now is the time for drivers, owners, operators, and others in the ‘Chain of Responsibility’ to step up and put safety first.”
Names of the companies whose trucks were involved were not revealed.