Following the prosecution of a company director who failed to maintain and service a fleet of heavy vehicles, resulting in the death of one of their drivers in October 2020, the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) urges all operators to review the roadworthiness of their fleets.
The Director was convicted and fined $42,000 for a category 2 offence under the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL) due to the incident involving a driver employed by the company who was killed when they were unable to manoeuvre a road turn and collided with a tree.
An inspection of the vehicle later revealed the truck’s brakes were so deficient that five of the eight wheel brakes, exhaust brake, service and emergency braking were not operational.
Acting director of prosecutions Iain Macdonald says that after the incident, visual inspections were carried out on the company’s remaining fleet.
“NHVR Safety and Compliance Officers, alongside South Australia Police, inspected the fleet and discovered 21 of the 22 heavy vehicles were defective; 19 of those with major defects which posed a serious safety risk,” he says.
“As a result of this significant number of defects, a formal investigation was launched and revealed that the company had no effective policies or procedures in place for repairs, service or maintenance of their heavy vehicles.”
Macdonald says the company’s director failed to have appropriate maintenance and repair systems in place to operate safely, including failure to routinely service and report fault repaired.
“Every operator has an obligation under the HVNL to ensure the safety of their transport activities, ensuring their fleet receives regular maintenance inspections and repairs are completed as soon as a fault is detected,” he says.
“This incident is a tragic reminder of what can occur when an operator does not prioritise the safety of its employees, other road users and the community.”
In a separate charge, the company has entered a guilty plea for a Category 1 offence, with sentencing to occur at a later date.
The NHVR has a Heavy Vehicle Confidential Reporting Line (HVCRL) which is a national service for participants in the heavy vehicle industry and supply chain to report safety issues relating to procedures, practices or conditions that could endanger a driver or road user.