Police Say Employers to Blame for Unsafe Trucks
Police said trucking companies are to blame for endangering of lives of drivers after nearly half the heavy trucks stopped in the South West were found to have safety defects.
Traffic Sgt Gerard Murphy stated that the police stopped almost 200 trucks on Forest Highway last week and issued 85 work orders. Murphy was reportedly “gobsmacked” by the reports that one trucking company was paying a monthly fee to a transport manager for falling below budget for vehicle maintenance.
Murphy is concerned that when trucking companies supply evidence to a coroner’s court , it will be discovered that they are neglecting maintenance and safety. He added that truck drivers have also approached the police with their safety concerns.
The most common fault was reportedly bald tyres, but other vehicles were found to have cracked windscreens and reflector lights.
Murphy said in some instances the truck drivers even jumped out of their vehicles to show the police the problems and claimed they’ve been telling their company to fix it.
More info on Chain of Responsibility
Source: http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/wa/14398869/unsafe-trucks-putting-public-safety-at-risk/
Chain of Responsibility: Australian Post Pleads Guilty In Forklift Accident Case
The Australian Post will have to face a fine after a forklift accident left an elderly contractor without a lower right leg. The federal work health and safety board have been investigating the case of the injured Toowoomba Mail Centre worker since last December,
The accident took place on a loading dock for the Australian Post. AP have since pleaded guilty for failing to control traffic in a bus in a busy area.
Justice John Logan, the judge for the case, was allegedly disappointed with Australia’s chain of responsibility, and the inadequate concern for the implementation and maintaining of safety policies and training at the centre.
Australian Post are set to pay $160,000 for the injury.
The board has yet to comment on the case. When prosecution was declared last year, the Work Health and Safety Group General Manager, Neil Quarmby declared that they are focused on working with employers and employees to ensure the safety of everyone.
Australian Post will have to pay out $80 000 in costs.
Source: http://www.supplychainreview.com.au/news/articleid/77299.aspx
Chain of responsibility – about ‘extended liability’
The Road Transport Reform (Compliance and Enforcement) Bill includes enhanced general extended liability offences.Chain of responsibility is a simple process of ensuring that everyone does their bit in managing fatigue risks in the road transport sector. Any person who aids, abets, counsels or procures the commission of an offence by another person will be taken to have committed the offence and may be found guilty, even if the principal offender is not found guilty or even prosecuted. Those who work in the transport industry may need to complete their chain of responsibility training.
Any person who causes or permits the commission of an offence or coerces, induces or offers an incentive to a person to commit an offence will be guilty of an offence.
It will also be an offence to discriminate against a person who has reported or raised concerns about road law breaches, for example, by dismissing an employee who raises concerns about breaches of driving hours requirements.
The chain of responsibility for each of the parties in dangerous goods transport is defined by drawing a distinction between the primary liability of the person responsible for ensuring that a particular requirement is met, and the secondary liability of a person who is responsible only to the extent that he or she knew, or reasonably ought to have known, that the obligation was not fulfilled.
Under these laws, packers, loaders, manufacturers, consignors, schedulers, prime contractors and drivers have defined legal responsibilities that correspond to their respective duties in the loading and transport of dangerous goods. The extent of their liability (primary or secondary) reflects the extent of their control over these duties.
When one of the parties in the chain of responsibility is a body corporate, there is also potential for a director, company secretary and senior manager to be held personally liable for a breach committed by that body corporate unless the person was not in a position to influence or control the body corporate in relation to that breach, or, if the person was in such a position, took reasonable steps to prevent the breach.
Chain of responsibility training covers extended liability and all other aspects of chain of responsibility necessary to ensure workers are compliant with the Health and Safety legislation.
How chain of responsibility laws affect your business
If you’re involved in road transport, you may need to undertake chain of responsibility training – read on. Under the national approach to road transport chain of responsibility laws instigated by the National Roads and Transport Commission and now implemented by States, Territories and the Commonwealth, all who exercise control over conduct that affects compliance will have responsibility, and may be made accountable for failure to discharge that responsibility.
This includes primary producers, miners, manufacturers, retailers, importers, exporters, tourism operators and all other parties involved in road freight and passenger transport. This is achieved by the clear identification of the responsibilities of various parties and holding them legally accountable for breaching them.
This approach is far more direct and effective in securing accountability for non-compliance than the previous laws, and enables all parties to know their legal obligations from the outset.
The chain of responsibility laws are designed to apply to all road transport offenses, ranging from minor breaches of log book recording to actions contributing to a serious spill of dangerous goods from a truck.
Chain of responsibility training focuses on highlighting the specifics of the legislation. What you will learn is the concept of a responsible person and about enhanced general extended liability offenses. You will also learn about Special chain of responsibility provisions for mass, dimension and load restraint.
Did you know that driving hours and speeding are also addressed in chain of responsibility legislation? These facts are also part of your chain of responsibility training.
Chain of Responsibility Training
A safety management system is designed to ensure the continued safety of the employees of a company. According to OSHAcademy, an online training center that offers courses in workplace safety, an audit of the safety management system should be done yearly to ensure that the safety management system is working correctly. (more…)
Chain of responsibility legislation: what has changed?
The traditional approach in road transport law in Australia has been to apply legal liability for not operating safely on drivers only, or in some cases owners or operators. (more…)
What is Chain of Responsibility?
Chain of Responsibility is a simple process of ensuring that everyone does their bit in managing fatigue risks in the road transport sector.
Road Transport is a risky activity. Driver fatigue is a major safety hazard for all drivers on the highway. The risk of death or serious injury to a driver and passenger or the occupants of other vehicles in a fatigue related crash is very high.
There is legislation, throughout Australia, to manage fatigue under Occupational Health and Safety. Everyone in the supply chain is responsible for the management of fatigue. The aim of the laws is to ensure that legal liability is imposed on all those in the transport chain who have responsibility for certain tasks where their actions result in an offense.
The laws target speeding, illegal driving and working hours, overloading, exceeding vehicle dimensions and poorly restrained loads. Improved compliance with these and other laws will provide a safer industry for workers in the road transport industry and other road users.
Chain of responsibility is a key initiative targeting those who, by their actions, inactions or demands, put drivers’ lives and other lives at risk, and gain an unfair competitive advantage by breaking the law.
The principle was developed by the National Road Transport Commission1 in the early 1990s and is a major component of the Commission’s ‘smart compliance’ approach to ensuring compliance with road transport laws.
Chain of Responsibility training is essential for anybody in the supply chain.
NTC backs WA on fatigue management
During a recent meeting with the Forum and the Northern Territory Road Transport Association, NTC Chairman Greg Martin told the groups there would be “no disadvantage to any jurisdiction” and “one size does not fit all”.
(more…)
Chain of Reponsibility – businesses urged to review
Law firm Cooper Grace Ward is warning Queensland businesses to examine their operations following the introduction of chain of responsibility law for heavy vehicle speed.
All parties involved in the delivery of goods can now be held accountable if a truck driver is caught speeding after the Queensland Government introduced the law on July 1. The law applies to vehicles over 4.5 tonnes. (more…)
QLD Truck Drivers Better Protected
From the 1st of July 2010 news laws to protect truck drivers against the influence of speed will now be enforced. (more…)
