Seven additional trucks will receive six month registration suspensions as the New South Government raises the pressure on overheight vehicle incidents.
Since 14 July, six companies and one owner-operator whose vehicles breached height clearance rules and stopped traffic have been served with registration suspensions.
These follow the first of the registration suspensions in late June since a deal was reached between the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) and the NSW Government.
This arrangement sees all overheight breaches automatically referred to Transport for NSW for investigation and sanction.
Minister for Roads, John Graham, said these suspensions are necessary because the Government’s message of zero tolerance has “unfortunately not yet got through to all drivers.”
“The message to those who own and operate trucks is if you do not plan properly and your drivers find themselves overheight and being backed into a slip lane then there are severe consequences for your business – not just the individual driver’s licence and bank account,” he said.
“Registration suspensions are one way to ensure we see fewer cases in which Sydney traffic is brought to its knees.
“We have also formed the Overheight Truck Taskforce, bringing together NSW Police, the freight industry, Transport and the Transport Workers’ Union to formulate new strategies to address this persistent problem.”
BG Drilling Pty Ltd was the first company to be issued with a suspension notice, for an incident on 16 June in which a truck registered to the company struck sprinklers in the Airport Tunnel, activating the deluge system.
A northbound lane had to be closed and traffic held in both directions while the truck was taken out of the tunnel.
Absperex Services Pty Ltd will also be without a truck after an incident on 29 June when its vehicle, fitted with a self-loading container arm, hit the physical barrier ahead of the Cooks River Tunnel before the driver lowered the arm inside the tunnel and proceeded to a breakdown bay on the M5, disrupting traffic.
The other five companies are Brisbane Transport Pty Ltd, Recycling Metal Industries Pty Ltd, Transpacific Superior Pak Pty Ltd, D & H Group Australia Pty Ltd and an individual operator.
