Victoria Police and VicRoads accused of heavy-handedness

FARMERS have accused Victoria’s road authority and police of “harassing” them with heavy-handed fines for minor infractions during harvest.

FARMERS have accused VicRoads and Victoria Police of harassing them with heavy-handed fines for minor infractions during harvest.

Growers across the Wimmera and Mallee claim grain-receival sites are being treated as “honey pots” — ­setting up on roads outside to check trucks and their drivers.

Some claim they have been pulled up for infractions as minor as a dull reflector on a headlight and even a small tear in a seat.

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Victorian Farmers Federation grains group president Ross Johns said the operations were “terrorising” farmers and had caused more stress than heavy rains and weaker prices.

“What will happen, in my view, will be rebellion, not compliance,” he said.

VicRoads said truck checks were designed to ensure safety.

“Farmers are so frustrated at the pedantic application of the law and feel that the general good of the community and industry have been forgotten. I think 90-95 per cent of grain growers are doing the right thing — and, of course, trucks should be roadworthy — yet we are seeing a heavy-handed approach to enforcement at a time we don’t need it.” Mr Johns said farmers were being targeted for vehicle faults, with some of the “extreme damage” caused by badly maintained roads.

“Truck owners are compelled to have roadworthy trucks, but the government is not compelled to have truck-worthy roads,” he said.

The Sunday Herald Sun has spoken to a number of farmers, who all ­expressed concern at the harvest ­season enforcement operation.

But VicRoads said the checks were designed to ensure safety, and that 45 of 95 checks in the Wimmera and Mallee last week had uncovered breaches. These included instances of driver fatigue, as well as unregistered and unsafe vehicles.

VicRoads heavy vehicle services director Eric Henderson said: “Safety is our number one priority.”

Victoria Police issued 111 heavy ­vehicle defect notices, seven penalty notices for unroadworthy trucks and 35 warnings during a five-day blitz in the Wimmera and Mallee.

Police spokeswoman Lauren Kells said the force made no apologies for policing roads. “On many occasions drivers with minor faults were not ­issued with a defect notice and were given the opportunity to get certain defects fixed,” she said.

“In our experience, these seasonally registered vehicles may be in need of repair as they spend most of the year on farms.

“They are looked at during harvest because of issues we have identified in the past, such as no seat belts, structural rust and broken suspensions, which render the vehicles a hazard.”

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