The company that owns a truck caught travelling 50km/h over the speed limit on the Hume Highway near Mittagong has been slapped with a number of defect notices following a raid by police and Roads and Maritime Services (RMS) inspectors this week.
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The investigation came after a B-Double was detected at 150km/h as it travelled north on the highway about 9.25am on March 2.
Officers from Southern Highlands Highway Patrol stopped the truck and spoke to its driver, a 46-year-old from the south-western Sydney suburb of Horningsea Park.
The truck was escorted to the RMS’s heavy vehicle safety station at Marulan, where police say an inspection found a number of defects.
Those issues included the brakes on the prime mover’s drive axles only partially working and inoperative brakes on two axles of the A-trailer.
A major defect was issued.
The B-Double was carrying general freight and weighed 60.7 tonnes.
A download of the prime mover’s engine control module found it was compliant.
The driver was issued infringement notices by the RMS in relation to work diary offences.
He was also issued an infringement notice for exceeding the speed limit by more than 45km/h, slapped with a fine of $3691 and stripped of six demerit points.
His driver’s licence was suspended for six months.
According to police, checks revealed that the prime mover was owned by an operator from Georges Hall, in Sydney’s southwest.
On Tuesday, traffic taskforce police directed all the trucks associated with the company be produced for inspection.
On Wednesday, taskforce officers and RMS inspectors examined 13 of the company’s heavy vehicles.
Two were issued with a major defect (red and yellow label) for a brake air line leak and excessive brake wear.
A further 11 minor defects were issued to the remainder of the fleet for problems ranging from inoperative turn signals on the dash, a broken exhaust mount, insufficient tread on tyres, engine oil leaks and a brake imbalance on various axles.
Five infringement notices were given for the minor defects and four issued for work diary offences.
A licence suspension advice was given to one of the drivers for failing to comply with RMS medical grounds.
Two engine control module downloads were conducted, which were found to be compliant.
RMS inspectors also issued nine speed limiter compliance notices after an audit of vehicles in the fleet identified those exceeding the average speed limit of 100km/h on the Hume Highway.
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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.
