Sydney road users shuddered in October 2013 when pictures flashed on television screens to record a road crash in the northern suburb of MonaVale. A tanker containing 34,000 litres of unleaded petrol got out of control coming down a steep hill and crashed into a number of cars, before overturning and erupting into a fireball. Dense black smoke could be seen for miles around and blazing petrol ran through the gutters and extended the blaze.
Two men managed to escape from their damaged car, but were engulfed by the fireball and incinerated. Another man suffered serious burns, but eventually survived. The driver of the crashed tanker escaped with only minor injuries. The driver told police that the cause of the crash was brake failure.
This road horror caused police to order all tankers operated by the firm that owned the crashed tanker off the road for an immediate safety check. The vast majority were not legally roadworthy and the company was fined $500,000 and faced 255 individual charges processed through the courts. This resulted in an ownership change and the promise that the incoming owner would make safety a priority and upgrade the ageing tanker fleet.
Due to the slow and ponderous nature of the courts the driver of the crashed tanker has just faced a judge and jury over the deaths caused in that accident. Forensic evaluation of the crashed tanker revealed that ten of it's twelve brakes were defective. It was simply an accident looking for a place to happen ! Surprisingly, the driver was found not guilty.
That is despite there being a sign on the steep hill the tanker was negotiating requiring heavy vehicles to engage low gear and that steep hill being a known black spot with a notorious accident record. This verdict opens that interesting can of worms of where responsibility rests when it comes to those who are employed to drive vehicles that have defects which must be obvious to them ?
No doubt the unions will weigh in on the side of the drivers. Those who earn their living by driving heavy vehicles are at the mercy of their employer. Should they refuse to take the wheel on safety grounds they would obviously be dismissed, and in such an industry a reputation of having safety issues could make them unemployable. On the other hand, knowingly taking a defective vehicle on the road is a crime that risks both that driver and other road users. It is not helpful if the law is vague about the ultimate responsibility.
Cash strapped trucking companies are notorious for ignoring costly repairs and rely on the skill of their drivers to overcome these defects. Recently a traffic jam on Genera Holmes Drive brought this driver skill question to the notice of the police. A semi trailer with a load too high for the Boeing tunnel under the airport runway managed to stop in time, but it was found that the licensed driver lacked the skill to backup the vehicle - or even knew how to uncouple the prime mover from the trailer. A more skilled driver had to be brought in to safely remove this rig - and it does raise questions about licensing standards.
Theoretically, unsafe heavy vehicles should be automatically weeded out by the checking stations they are required to pass through on all highways in and out of Sydney. Each vehicle passes over the scales to determine that they are not overloaded and the drivers time record is checked to ensure he or she has had adequate rest time, but mechanics are on hand to check for defective faults if the truck examiners think this is necessary. The only way defective trucks will be eliminated on our roads is if this check becomes automatic and owners know that defective vehicles will go no further than the first checking station they encounter.
That will come at a cost. Freight costs will certainly rise as truck fleets need to be upgraded and many small and under capitalised outfits will be driven out of business. It all depends if we are serious about implementing a safe road network !
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