The NSW Minister for Roads and Ports, Duncan Gay, has demanded a review of the National Heavy Vehicle Accreditation Scheme (NHVAS) in light of a recent fatal accident involving a fuel tanker in Sydney's north.
Under the scheme, the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) accredited the Victorian-registered fuel tanker that crashed in Sydney's northern beaches on 1 October.
Since the accident, which killed two people and injured several, the trucking company concerned, Cootes Transport, had been issued with 181 defect notices, 136 of them major.
“I need to know that vehicles under this scheme are being appropriately maintained to ensure compliance with safety standards," said Gay. "I need to ensure road safety for all road users.”
"Authorities more vigilant than ever"
The turn of events will have significant implications for local government fleet managers, said IPWEA's fleet expert and Unicqo Managing Director, Grant Andrews.
“Authorities are going to be more vigilant than ever in ensuring compliance with safety and maintenance requirements,” he said. “And local government will be caught in the wash.”
The IPWEA runs workshops around Australia twice yearly that advise fleet managers on NHVAS maintenance compliance requirements. “In those workshops, we always say that you have to record these requirements and make them easily accessible," Andrews said. "That way if something does go wrong, you can prove compliance." If authorities were to uncover any breach of compliance, he added, it could lead to an entire fleet being placed under close scrutiny.
The NHVR came into effect in January this year as the first-ever nation-wide heavy vehicle regulator, ensuring fleet managers could operate under one set of rules, rather than have rules that vary from state to state. The new body was touted for its potential to save time and money by reducing the number of steps required to obtain or renew NHVAS accreditation.