A major Victorian transporter has been ordered to improve its practices after being declared a persistent or systematic offender by
A major Victorian transporter has been ordered to improve its practices after being declared a persistent or systematic offender by a NSW Court.
The court issued a supervisory intervention order upon Annfield Pty Ltd, which trades as Fred’s Interstate Transport, after finding the company guilty of 29 overloading offences.
The court order requires the operator to install compliance equipment on each of its heavy vehicles to weigh the individual axle loads and gross loads on each heavy vehicle that is in operation.
Established in 1978, Fred’s Interstate Transport has a fleet of more than 60 line-haul vehicles in both B-double and single-trailer configurations.
A spokesperson for the NSW Roads and Traffic Authority (RTA) says it is significant to note that every offence committed in this case involved a vehicle registered in the Federal Interstate registration Scheme (FIRS).
“There are some corners of the trucking industry which believe that waring a FIRS plate allows an operator to escape important road safety laws.
“The results of this case indicate that if you’re wearing a FIRS number plate the RTA will now catch you.
“FIRS was designed to provide uniform charges and operating conditions for heavy vehicles engaged solely in interstate operations.
“However, they must still comply with all state laws such as those on loading, speeding and fatigue.
“The judgement shows that wearing a FIRS plate is no protection from the new national chain-of-responsibility laws,” the spokesperson says.
Chain-of-responsibility laws relating to mass, dimension and load restraint matters were introduced in NSW in 2005; in September 2008 the laws weer extended to cover fatigue and speeding.