High-tech sensors designed to alert truck drivers to over-height loads will be installed on motorways on the outskirts of Sydney if a trial to prevent large vehicles closing the Harbour Tunnel and other key routes is successful.
As part of the six-month trial, trucks taller than four metres will be scanned as they pass under sensors, and their height and number plate recorded and displayed to drivers on overhead digital signs further along a motorway.
If trucks are over-height, drivers will have time to change their route or pull over to check their load before they reach tunnels such as NorthConnex, which connects the M1 Pacific Motorway to the M2 in Sydney’s north, or motorway overpasses and tunnels elsewhere.
The first site to have automatic sensors installed is now operating on the southbound lanes of the M1 Pacific Motorway at Mount White, north of the Hawkesbury River.
Over-height trucks blocking tunnel entrances or hitting motorway structures cause widespread disruptions to Sydney’s road network and damage to critical infrastructure, resulting in lengthy delays for motorists when lanes are shut.
Roads Minister John Graham said the scanning technology would take the guesswork out of load heights, providing real-time calculations that allowed drivers to act immediately to avoid over-height incidents.
The scanning technology is designed to stop over-height trucks causing major incidents. Credit: NSW Police
“This technology is an awareness, not enforcement tool. It arms drivers with the right information so they can make the right decisions on the road,” he said.
Transport for NSW executive Craig Moran said the agency aimed to eventually roll out the new technology to all key heavy vehicle routes into Sydney.
“We’ll evaluate the results of the trial in six months. Responding to over-height incidents comes at a huge resource and productivity cost – not to mention resulting delays and damage,” he said.
The transport agency has combined scanning technology with automatic number plate recognition software to create the detection system.
Last year the state government introduced six-month registration bans for offending over-height trucks, putting the onus on vehicle owners and transport companies to ensure incidents were avoided. Truck drivers also face a $4097 fine and 12 demerit points.
The government has cited the crackdown and the launch of a taskforce last year as reasons for a drop in over-height trucks causing disruptions to Sydney’s motorway tunnels.
The Sydney Harbour Tunnel, which has been the most disrupted motorway, recorded 12 incidents in the six months to June, a 60 per cent drop on the same period last year.
All up, there were 26 over-height incidents in the first six months of this year, compared with 68 in the same period in 2023.
Under a deal with the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator last year, all incidents of over-height breaches in tunnels are referred to Transport for NSW for sanction.
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