NSW: Operation Shield hits hard

Latest heavy vehicle inspection blitz sees thousands of trucks stopped across New South Wales, with 796 defect notices issued

Authorities in New South Wales recently stepped up their focus on heavy vehicle compliance with Operation Shield, which saw nearly 10,000 trucks inspected in the first week of December.

Carried out by Joint Heavy Vehicle Taskforce officers from NSW Police along with Roads and Maritime Service inspectors, the campaign saw trucks inspected both at the roadside and at heavy vehicle safety stations at Marulan, Chinderah, Daroobalgie, Parkes, Forbes, Cooma, Nimmitabel, Queanbeyan, Kankool, Bell, Mount Boyce, Mount White, Coffs Harbour, Pine Creek and Coolac.

Of the vehicles inspected, NSW Police says 796 defect notices were issued, along with 129 infringement notices and 119 breaches concerning registration, weight, licencing, or load-related matters. Some 3478 random breath tests were carried out but no positive results were recorded, while the 1861 random drug tests resulted in 22 drivers testing positive.

NSW Police Traffic and Highway Patrol Commander, Assistant Commissioner John Hartley, said the results were disappointing.

"We are about ensuring that truck drivers and other road users are safe on our roads," he said.

"To hear of one driver undergoing a drug test at Coolac with a negative result, only for that driver to test positive later in the day at Marulan, suggests that drug use is a problem for some drivers.

"To personally see an over-length truck and trailer combination carrying large lengths of angle iron that are poised against other iron products as a restraint should be of grave concern to not only those that have loaded the trailer, but also to the driver and the operator of the fleet. Even the customer who has purchased the product is liable in the event of a crash.

"For Taskforce officers to intercept oversize/overmass loads under escort with either incorrect or expired permits suggests the industry is not paying careful attention to proper process that ensures the safety of not only those transporting and escorting the load, but also of other innocent road users."

Assistant Commissioner Hartley also said the tampering of speed restrictors was an on-going problem.

"Out of 264 trucks that were subjected to an engine control module download by officers, 33 were found to have been tampered with, which is a totally unacceptable risk to road safety," he said.

"Not only to those drivers face a penalty of $2252, but operators and companies face penalties too, with one recently fined $10,000 for allowing such practices to occur."

NSW authorities were assisted by police and road transport authorities from Queensland, Victoria and South Australia during the blitz.

NSW: Operation Shield hits hard

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