The M1 Princes Motorway on Mount Ousley is one of 150 locations across NSW where trucks are being checked as part of the country’s largest ever heavy vehicle compliance operation.
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NSW Police - in conjunction with the NSW Roads and Maritime Services (RMS), and the Victorian, Queensland, ACT and South Australian police forces - are conducting ‘Operation Rolling Thunder’ on Thursday.
The operation began at 6am and will continue all day.
In the Illawarra, southbound trucks are being intercepted by police and RMS inspectors about halfway down Mount Ousley.
On the South Coast, checks are also being carried out on the Princes Highway near Eden.
Commander of NSW Police Traffic and Highway Patrol Command, Assistant Commissioner Michael Corboy, said the operation involved more than 300 police and 150 RMS officers, as well as police from other states.
“This operation is in direct response to three fatal truck crashes in the course of two days earlier this year, that cost the lives of five people,” Assistant Commissioner Corboy said.
Those deaths included a young couple, both aged 19, who were killed when a semi-trailer ploughed into cars stopped at roadworks on the Newell Highway near Dubbo.
Police officers and RMS inspectors are checking heavy vehicles at various locations across the state, as well as drug and alcohol testing truck drivers.
Queensland, Victorian, ACT, and South Australian police are conducting simultaneous operations to ensure all heavy vehicles entering and leaving NSW are stopped, inspected and their drivers tested.
“We are covering every entry and exit into NSW,” he said.
“We are also covering all of the Sydney metropolitan area, we’re targeting all the major motorways and we have police and RMS set up at all major checking stations throughout the state.
“We also have roving crews operating on all the major highways; the Newell, the Princes, the Pacific and the Hume highways, and those areas where we’ve had numerous truck crashes.
“Last year, we lost 68 people as a result of heavy vehicle collisions and, to be honest, we've had enough.”
Thirty-eight people have died on NSW roads so far this year, nine more than in the same period last year. Five of those deaths were the result of crashes involving heavy vehicles.
“Enough’s enough. Today we’re making a stand,” Assistant Commissioner Corboy said.
“We’re going to show everyone that we’re taking heavy vehicle crashes seriously and we’re going to make sure every vehicle that we see is checked.”
RMS director of compliance Roger Weeks said truckies who ignored the law risked losing their licence and incurring heavy fines.
“The feedback that we’re getting from those reputable companies and the professional drivers is that they want the ratbags out of the industry,” Mr Weeks said.
“They know that those ratbags are the ones that are giving the industry a bad name and that is why police and Roads and Maritime Services are absolutely targeting those operators and those drivers because they’re the ones that are in our sights.”
Andrew Pearson
Andrew grew up in the western Riverina town of Hay and has strong ties to the region. He is a former DA journo who has a passion for breaking news and has covered everything from council and politics to crime and court.
Andrew grew up in the western Riverina town of Hay and has strong ties to the region. He is a former DA journo who has a passion for breaking news and has covered everything from council and politics to crime and court.
