Safety inspection numbers plummet in NSW

Shadow Minister says that the number of inspections on trucks has dropped under Berejiklian government

A press release we received from the NSW Shadow Minister for Roads, Jodi McKay says that on the eve of a new package of measures designed to reduce the road toll, the Berejiklian Government’s own figures reveal it has cut the number of truck safety intercepts.

An intercept is defined by Roads and Maritime Services as "the stopping of a vehicle to conduct a compliance inspection check".

The number of On Road Enforcement truck intercepts undertaken by RMS has plummeted from 68,157 in 2013/14 to 40,149 in 2016/17 – a drop of more than 40 per cent, says the press statement.

In the same period, the number of truck intercepts performed at Heavy Vehicle Safety Stations has dropped by almost 17,000 – from 136,194 in 2013/14 to 119,236 in 2016/17.

In 2017 there were 81 fatalities from heavy vehicle crashes – an increase of 25 on the previous year.

“It’s a tragedy to see the road toll in NSW rise after it trended down for so many years – the Premier has no time to waste on taking some meaningful action to stop the road toll from continuing to climb,” said Ms McKay.

“A good first step would be for the Berejiklian Government to reverse its cuts to the truck intercepts programs and get unsafe heavy vehicles off the roads,” she added.

The NSW Public Service Association recently revealed that there are 34 fewer Heavy Vehicle Safety Inspectors now than there were this time last year, a 15 per cent reduction of the total workforce.

“The spike in NSW’s road toll should not come as any surprise to Roads Minister Melinda Pavey: her government cut the number of heavy vehicle safety inspectors so it only follows there would be fewer inspections,” Ms McKay concluded.

Safety inspection numbers plummet in NSW

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