Police in NSW have warned that there are a small handful of truckies who are still disobeying the law and these drivers will be the focus of police attention following a number of incidents involving speeding heavy vehicles. The latest incident that caught the attention of authorities and prompted further action was the case of a truckie travelling 23km over the speed limit while talking on his mobile phone. To make matters worse he could easily have crashed into pedestrians because he was in a school zone at the time.  Police have reiterated their commitment to stopping speeding in the truck industry and are passionate about protecting road users from speedsters. Read this post on Fullyloaded.com.au that details the other problematic incidents:

• A 35-year-old truck driver was caught on November 29 using his mobile phone while travelling at 63km/h in a 40km/h school zone.
• On November 30, officers detected a B-double travelling at 128km/h on the Hume Highway, while two other B-doubles were detected a short time later on the Newell Highway travelling at 27km/h over the speed limit.
• All three drivers were fined for exceeding the 100km/h speed limit and having non-compliant speed limiters. The 35-year-old driver was issued infringements for breaking the speed limit by more than 10km/h in a school zone and using a mobile phone while driving in a school zone.
• “You cannot excuse speeding in any vehicle, especially not in a heavy truck,” Superintendent Stuart Smith says.
• “We are willing to work closely with trucking industry leaders who are passionate about truck safety but will not tolerate the small, rogue element who continue to put lives at risk by recklessly neglecting and tampering with their vehicles.”
• Smith says officers will continue to target all aspects of heavy vehicle compliance, including log book management and load restraint.

Source: https://www.fullyloaded.com.au/industry-news/articleid/81993.aspx So according to the police the main issues they have noticed and will be focusing on include:

• Speeding and Speed limiter tampering
• Vehicle neglect and lack of maintenance
• Log book management
• Load restraints

Speed and speed limiter tampering has long been identified as one of the major issues threatening road safety. The main reasons for this include unrealistic pressures on drivers to deliver within timeframes and rushing to make more trips and more money. Some drivers are just impatient and speed because of frustration because they spend extended hours on the road often in the hot sun. It is therefore tempting to speed to bring the journey to a quicker end but this is a terrible idea because not only are drivers making themselves liable to fines, they are placing their lives and livelihoods in danger, as well as risking the lives of other innocent road users. The importance of heavy vehicle maintenance is more than just avoiding breakdowns and keeping up productivity, it’s about road safety. Regular maintenance helps to keep drivers safe and the chances of crashes are significantly reduced. Heavy vehicles that get stuck on the road because they have not been maintained can cause a heavy traffic backlog or may cause a crash if other vehicles do not see them on a dark road and cause a collision. Police have vowed to do their part to ensure “cowboy” drivers and operators are held accountable for their actions, those truckies that are doing the right thing should be pleased to hear this and continue to keep up their high safety standards.