New crackdown on trucks has found six in every 10 don’t meet safety standards
THOUSANDS of the state’s registered trucks are not safe enough to be on the roads. More than 3000 have been tested under a new scheme that began last year, and the failure rate is appalling.
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THOUSANDS of the state’s registered trucks are not safe enough to be on the roads and are failing a new testing system.
Of the 3009 second-hand trucks sold since the scheme began last year, 60 per cent failed at least one aspect of a safety inspection.
And there is an almost one-third failure rate for issues considered the most serious — brakes, steering and suspension, body structure or engine/drive train.
Transport Minister Stephan Knoll said it was clear from stage one of the new scheme, which is testing only at the point of sale, that a large number of trucks should not be allowed on the state’s roads.
He said the State Government would press ahead with plans for stage two, regular compulsory safety checks.
“The number of faults identified through the new heavy-vehicle inspection scheme illustrates why the scheme is so important,’’ he said.
“Heavy vehicles that aren’t fit for purpose pose a safety risk to South Australians and shouldn’t be on the road.”
The new system began after a horrific crash at the intersection of the Southeast Freeway and Portrush Rd in 2014, caused by truck brake failure at the end of the long, steep descent.
Two motorists were killed when the runaway sewage truck travelling at 150km/h crashed into vehicles at the intersection.
A truck driver also died on the steep downtrack in 2014, and another in 2010.
Transport Department figures of the point-of-sale scheme, as at end of August, show the problem is far worse than first thought with 3009 sales recording 914 brake fails, 915 steering and suspension fails, 838 body and structure fails and 701 engine/driveline fails.
Mr Knoll said the Government was committed to a coronial recommendation following the horror 2014 crash for mandatory annual testing of trucks.
Deputy state coroner Anthony Schapel in 2015 recommended: “All heavy vehicles be subjected to a periodic and frequent inspection regime’’.
Road Transport Association executive Steve Shearer said the figures were not representative of the entire truck fleet.
He said under the scheme only trucks more than three years old were tested, and some were decades old.
Also, he said sellers uncertain of what was required of them under the scheme were having the vehicle fail the first test in order to work out what they needed to repair.
“It sounds like there are a lot of trucks with a lot of problems but the reality is the people selling the trucks — which are often very old — so they don’t waste their time they are using the test as a what-do-I-fix sort of system,’’ he said.
“These are not the fleets of near-new or new trucks on the road with professional trucking companies or operators.
“If those figures were from a sample of vehicles randomly pulled over and tested they would very concerning.’’
The trial in 2016 to test if a point-of-sale system was needed found only 100 of the 900 trucks randomly pulled over had faulty brakes.
Previously trucks registered in SA could run for their full lifetime without being subjected to a test, but Mr Knoll said when the scheme was fully implemented there would be no way of registering an unsafe truck or continuing to use it on the road.
“We want to ensure that heavy vehicles are safe and fit to be on our roads and they won’t be granted registration until they’ve met the appropriate standard,’’ he said.
The scheme, for trucks weighing 4.5 tonnes or more and three years or older, excludes buses that already undergo an annual inspection and special-purpose vehicles such as tractors, agricultural and road-making equipment.
Mr Knoll has previously ruled out similar checks for light vehicles, despite the Motor Trades Association and other safety experts continuing to lobby for the change.
RAA road safety spokesman Charles Mountain said the truck failure figures released by the department highlighted the sort of problems that could cause accidents.
“I find these figures surprising, and they are some of the serious issues like faults with steering and suspension,’’ he said.
Mr Mountain said the only light vehicles that compare with the time and distance trucks spent on the road were taxis, which were already subjected to regular safety checks.
“A lot of trucks are on the road all day every day and carrying a very heavy payload,’’ he said.
“There is a very, very low percentage of light vehicle crashes in which a vehicle fault is the cause.”
MTA ceo Paul Unerkov said the figures were not a surprise to the organisation and were similar to anecdotal evidence from road users and repairers.
“The MTA supports the Government’s push to ensure our roads are as safe as possible and the failure rate of heavy vehicles demonstrates why we need a mandatory heavy vehicle inspection scheme,’’ he said.
Trucks in trouble
Number of vehicles inspected since 2017 — 3009
Brake fails — 914
Steering and suspension — 915
Structure — 838
Engine driveline — 701