A Brisbane truckie, 26, has been convicted and fined $12,000 in the Walgett Local Court after being detected committing similar offences twice in three days.
According to the Traffic and Highway Patrol Command, at about 2.30pm on May 10, 2023, officers attached to Walgett Highway Patrol intercepted a heavy vehicle on the Kamilaroi Highway in Walgett, NSW.
Officers noticed that items inside the trailers were severely protruding from both sides of the curtain.
The Brisbane truckie was spoken to and was directed by police to open both trailers for inspection.
Upon opening the curtains, police observed items falling from the truck onto the roadway. The trailers contained various loads which were improperly loaded, none of which were secured in any way whatsoever.
The shifting of the load had dislodged the metal gate in the rear trailer, causing it to hang toward the roadway.
The width of the vehicle was also measured to be exceeding the maximum allowable 2500 millimetres.
The vehicle was immediately grounded and the driver was issued a Court Attendance Notice for the offences of:
• Drive/permit heavy vehicle not comply loading requirements (Severe)
• Drive/permit heavy vehicle not comply loading requirements (Severe)
• Use/permit to be used on road heavy vehicle that is unsafe
• Drive/permit not comply with dimension requirements (Minor).
Three days later, the same officers attached to Walgett Highway Patrol sighted the same heavy vehicle being driven by the same person.
The vehicle was stopped on Peel Street, Walgett and inspected. Police found it to be loaded in an almost identical manner, with significant load shift observed and no load restraints being used. As a result of the shift, the loads within the trailer had collapsed and fallen on top of each other.
The vehicle was grounded and the driver was once again issued a Court Attendance Notice for the offences of:
• Drive/permit heavy vehicle not comply loading requirements (Severe)
• Drive/permit heavy vehicle not comply loading requirements (Substantial).
Police urge operators to remember that loads can shift during a journey, so checking loads both before the commencement of the trip and throughout the trip is imperative.