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A Victorian company has been charged with serious safety offences over a truck rolling over a pedestrian island crossing in Dandenong South.
The heavy vehicle with a shipping container carrying 26 tonnes of imported timber plywood products toppled on the corner of Abbotts Road and South Gippsland Highway on 11 November 2019.
The load’s consignor was charged by the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator with failing its duty of safety by exposing drivers, unloaders and members of the public to the risk of death or serious injury.
The NHVR alleges the consignor failed to comply with loading and restraint requirements, and failed to advise an overseas supplier of Australian safety regulations.
It also failed to have any restraint system in place in the container, and failed to advise the driver and operator how the load was packed, the NHVR claimed.
The consignor allegedly failed to take these measures since June 2017.
During that time, 189 containers were transported without any restraint, the NHVR claims.
No one was injured in the November 2019 rollover.
It’s the NHVR’s first prosecution of a consignor since the 2018 amendment of the Heavy Vehicle National Law that makes all parties in the supply chain share a duty to ensure transport safety.
NHVR statutory compliance executive director Ray Hassall said the law was clear that all involved in heavy vehicle transport shared responsibility for worker and public safety.
“This was a serious incident that the NHVR will allege was caused by multiple breaches of safety laws,” Mr Hassall said.
The case was set to be heard at Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on 22 March.
