SA Police Shocking Discovery – One Fleet, 35 Major Defects

The importance of heavy vehicle maintenance and regular servicing is more than just avoiding breakdowns and keeping up productivity, it’s also important to road safety.

Regular maintenance helps to keep drivers safe and minimize the chance of accidents however truck maintenance issues seem to still be a major concern for some operators in SA. South Australian Police have made a discovery that surprised even officers. Police who inspected a SA transport company found that almost two thirds of the heavy vehicles inspected had some fault.

Maintaining a safe fleet includes regular brake checks, servicing schedules, fluid level checks and tyre wear inspections, simple steps that are often neglected by operators. A functioning vehicle in safe working order is less likely to be involved in an accident than a vehicle that has defects or faults.

Trucks that are maintained regularly are less likely to result in rollovers, damage to property and loss of human life. That is why officers from South Australia’s heavy vehicle enforcement section were so disappointed when they discovered extremely poorly maintained vehicles in some transport operators fleets.

Police apparently conducted an early morning inspection of vehicles at a transport company in Wingfield on March 27. Major crash mechanics and a Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure inspector also assisted with the inspection.

After inspecting 76 trucks, inspectors found 35 major defects including faulty brakes. Vehicles were either grounded or issued with major defect notices, preventing them from being driven until repairs were conducted.

In addition to the 35 major defects, 14 minor defects were also recorded for those safety risks which officers deemed not imminent. Minor defect notices give operators a longer period of time to address the issues identified by officers.

Steve Kameniar, SA Police Inspector explained:

“If the officer reasonably believes the safety risk is not imminent, a minor defect notice (is issued),” SA Police’s Inspector Steve Kameniar says.

Source: http://www.fullyloaded.com.au

Inspections such this one are important because they reveal those vehicles that are posing a risk and jeopardising the safety of all road-users. Traffic Support Branch representative Bob Fauser explained that poorly maintained and unroadworthy heavy vehicles posed a serious crash risk.

Mr Fauser also stated that those companies that continually showed up on authorities’ radar would find themselves being targeted for compliance checks.  He went on to state:

“If the same operators are regularly coming to our attention and we are not seeing an improvement in roadworthiness performance then those operators can expect that police will utilise investigation powers to conduct compliance checks of the fleet.”

Source: http://www.fullyloaded.com.au

Make sure your company’s fleet is well maintained and that everyone involved in the supply chain within your company is aware of what is expected of them. Visit  CoRAustralia.com today.