The grounding of 3 trucks within a 24 hour period has forced the NSW police department to issue a warning to the members of the transport industry about road safety breaches. Police officers have warned that they will not show leniency to any road users, especially truckies who continuously flout the law. The latest incident comes as a B-Double truckie was stopped in South Australia’s Holbrook travelling over 20km over the speed limit, in addition to breaking fatigue laws by not adhering to the recommended rest breaks. The truck has been confiscated to have its speed limiter evaluated.  To add fuel to the fire, the truckie was caught speeding earlier this month on the Albury Highway, obviously he did not learn his lesson at the time. Investigations into this truck driver and his truck continue. This post on Fullyloaded.com.au has details:

New South Wales Police has issued a stern warning to the transport industry after grounding three trucks in 24 hours: officers are not backing off in their enforcement efforts. A South Australian B-double driver was caught 20km/h over the speed limit at Holbrook yesterday. The 50-year-old Renmark man is also accused of failing to take a seven-hour rest break in a previous journey as mandated under fatigue laws. His truck was defected so the speed limiter can be checked. Superintendent Stuart Smith says the same truck and driver had been detected speeding by Albury Highway Patrol on August 3. “Our inquiries are continuing into a clearance notice issued to the driver which allegedly cleared the previous defect,” Smith says. “We have since located the truck involved in Melbourne, and in consultation with the South Australian operator, the truck has been directed to attend the Albury heavy vehicle checking Station.” “Roads and Maritime Service (RMS) inspectors will conduct a thorough inspection of the engine to determine whether or not speed limiter tampering is an issue here,” he adds. “These inspectors will also investigate the probity of the clearance given to the truck this week.” Source: https://www.fullyloaded.com.au/industry-news/1208/police-promise-greater-scrutiny-as-more-drivers-are-caught-out.

However this truckie was not the only repeat offender with another driver stopped for the fifth time in 2012 for speeding. The truckie’s suspicious work activities have led police to confiscate his work diary for further inspection, after this transgression saw him travelling 124km per hour on The Hume Highway last week. Within the same 24 hour period a third truck was stopped in the Albury area. Almost half of the heavy vehicles stopped have been identified with breaches, defects, infringements and cautions and a wopping 54 trucks have been grounded for tampering with their speed limiters. Police say their actions should serve as a warning to the trucking industry that they are committed to road safety and breaches will not be tolerated.  Although truckies seem to have built up a culture of speeding, especially on the NSW highways, the heavy vehicle task force will remain committed to fighting for road safety, regardless of the amount of trucks they have to stop or the inconvenience caused. Truckies should heed this warning, as the costs of having your truck grounded or your work diary confiscated will be much greater than the cost of travelling within speed limits or stopping for the required amount of breaks according to fatigue laws. The post goes on to state the following:

Another driver was for the fifth time this year stopped for speeding offences. His recent transgression was detected on Thursday when he was busted travelling 124km/h on the Hume Highway. His work diary has been seized for further analysis after police allegedly detected a number of anomalies. A third truck was also grounded in Albury. Smith says 2,235 trucks have been inspected, with 1,199 issued for breaches, defects, infringements and cautions. “Our enforcement campaigns have resulted in the grounding of 54 trucks for speed limiter tampering,” he says. “This should send a clear warning to the industry that our enforcement campaigns and Austrans operations are working. “Whilst ever trucks continue to speed in NSW the joint heavy vehicle taskforce will continue to work together for the benefit of road safety across the state.” Source: https://www.fullyloaded.com.au/industry-news/1208/police-promise-greater-scrutiny-as-more-drivers-are-caught-out.