Chain of Responsibility Update: More COR and Drug Offences picked up by Austrans

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The recent Austrans Operations undertaken by authorities and police in Victoria have revealed a variety of offences by truck drivers. The crackdown began as vehicle inspectors along the Monaro Highway began pulling over trucks last month. The operation which has run annually since 1989 involves a range of road, transport and safety authorities throughout Australia and New Zealand. Last year’s operation saw 15705 offences being fined. According to police this year’s AUSTRANS operation focussed on drug driving as police intelligence revealed that the use of methamphetamine and other illicit drugs by transport drivers is prevalent and frequently coinciding with driving long hours. According to police 228 people died during June 2010-June 2011 from 201 crashes involving heavy vehicles. Police aim to reduce illegal activity in the industry and ensure safety standards and procedures are adhered to. Although the number of drug offences has declined this year other offences such as not wearing seatbelts, speeding, mobile phone offences, fatigue and unlicensed driving were still prevalent. According to Fullyloaded.com.au: Chain of responsibility infractions discovered during recent Victoria Police checks related to Operation Austrans hit three figures during the month-long initiative. On a slightly brighter note, the rate of drug-driving appears to have fallen. One in 29 truck drivers has tested positive to drugs. The number is down from one in eight before the Operation Austrans began on May 1, police say. Though they were unable to furnish the finer details by the time ATN hit deadline, state police did say they inspected more than 7,000 trucks during last month’s national operation, conducting more than 22,000 preliminary oral fluid tests and 4,200 breath tests. They have detected more than 1,900 offences during the operation. “More than 130 offences were also detected against people other than the driver, such as company owners, operators and consigners,” Victoria Police say. Deputy Commissioner Kieran Walshe says the collective efforts of other operations across the state were seeing positive indications on the road toll. “During May, along with Operation Austrans, we ran a number of other operations such as Operation Monte targeting unlicensed and unregistered drivers across the state, Operation Knockdown focusing on driver distraction in Yarra and Operation Red Eye cracking down on drink drivers in Stonnington. “The community too have certainly played their part – it’s positive to see motorists starting to heed the road safety message and make those changed to their driving behaviour to reduce risks on the road.” Source: https://www.fullyloaded.com.au/industry-news/1206/operation-austrans-picks-up-cor-and-drug-offences The operation, which has been running for over 20 years involves a range of road, transport and safety authorities. All Australian state, territory and police jurisdictions and the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) participated in Operation Austrans this year. According to authorities not all truck drivers are guilty of these offences but truckers are being targeted because of the sheer size of their vehicles which could result in even bigger disasters than ordinary vehicles if something went wrong. Fatigue is also a major problem that authorities aim to stamp out. Drivers are forced to meet strict deadlines that sometimes involve driving while tired. According to police reports Operation Austrans recorded a number of offences which were posted on Fullyloaded.com.au as follows: The police breakdown of Operation Austrans was:

4,208 preliminary breath tests
2,268 preliminary oral fluid tests
78 positive oral fluid tests
15 drug offences
174 seatbelt offences
99 speeding offences
140 mobile phone offences
34 unlicensed drivers
665 fatigue related offences (work diary offences)
135 chain of responsibility offences (company owners, operators and consigners)

Source: https://www.fullyloaded.com.au/industry-news/1206/operation-austrans-picks-up-cor-and-drug-offences Truck drivers should by now be aware of the Austrans operation and do everything they can to abide by the rules of the road. While drug driving, talking on your mobile phone and not wearing a seatbelt are some of the obvious offences committed by truck drivers, there are also some that are less obvious that drivers should be aware of. As a truck driver, your responsibilities also include making sure that: