It was mid-morning on a cloudy overcast day when the truckies bush telegraph started buzzing that scalies were conducting a blitz at the breakdown pad along the Townsville Port Access Road.
So, Spy headed out there and saw the road transport officers in big numbers.
It is a place where plenty of heavy trucks must pass which are either coming from out west along the Flinders Highway, or from south or north on the Bruce Highway.
Lots of triples and quads pass there with many heading to and from the busy Port of Townsville.
The scalies had set up on both the inbound and outbound sides of the road.
I saw six scalies on the inbound lane waiting for trucks and several climbing on and checking trailers on the outbound side.
The drivers of heavy vehicles had no other route to take, so they had no alternative other than to be pulled over.
Some of the drivers there told me they didn’t feel lonesome.
“There are plenty of other blitzes on trucks at many places in the country,” one told me.
Spy contacted the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) for comment.
“The NHVR conducted the final phase of a safety and compliance officer recruitment course last week at sites across the Townsville area, including the Townsville Port Access Road interception site,” said an NHVR spokesperson.
“During the operation, recruits were checking safety factors such as mass, fatigue, and load restraint, using the skills they have learnt since their employment began just prior to the NHVR assuming responsibility for the delivery of heavy vehicle on-road compliance and enforcement services in Queensland on April 20, 2024.
“The On-Road practical assessment saw eight new safety and compliance officers successfully complete their training, with these staff to be stationed at sites across the Central and Far North areas of Queensland including Gladstone, Rockhampton, Emerald, Townsville, and Cairns.”