Rogue truckies running on drugs
Peter Mickelburough
April 24, 2007 12:00am
RECORD numbers of truckies are being charged over drugs. One in 30 checked by highway police last year was charged with drug-related offences.
And 60 per cent of drugs seized from truckies were amphetamines, used to keep them awake so they could drive further.
Police also regularly detect unlicensed truck drivers, and tampering with speed-limiting equipment is becoming common.
Figures obtained by the Herald Sun show at least a quarter of truck drivers checked by police spend more time behind the wheel than is legally allowed.
More than 1000 trucks stopped last year by the Victoria Police road safety taskforce's highway unit had dangerous safety defects. The unit charged a record 121 truck drivers with 182 drug offences.
Speed-limiting equipment was tampered with on 34 trucks -- one in every 100 checked. And 28 drivers -- one in 127 -- were not licensed to drive their vehicle.
The results have angered police, transport operators and the truckies' union.
Victorian Transport Association CEO Philip Lovel blamed it on greed. "It annoys the buggery out of me that this is still going on," he said.
Truck safety has been in the spotlight since last month's horrific Burnley Tunnel crash, which left three people dead.
The man heading the Burnley Tunnel probe, the major collision investigation unit's Sen-Sgt Jeff Smith, said his officers still confronted the "same old problems" when it came to truck drivers -- drugs and fatigue.
"It's not rocket science. Everyone knows what the problem is. It's how to stop them doing it," he said.
A Herald Sun Insight investigation also found:
DRUGS, driver fatigue and speed were common among long-distance drivers.
TRUCKS are involved in fatal accidents at almost three times the rate of other vehicles.
MODIFIED semi-trailers and B-doubles will carry heavier loads under reforms approved by Australia's transport ministers just days after the tunnel disaster.
LIFE-SAVING safety devices, which are mandatory on trucks in Europe and North America, remain optional in Australia.
Highway unit boss Acting Inspector Wayne Cully said speed, fatigue and the drugs were the biggest problems encountered by his officers.
"Speed is a big problem. They are big vehicles and when they travel at speed they always hit hard," he said.
Acting Inspector Cully said his unit had detected trucks travelling at 128km/h and 120km/h in the past month alone. A B-double doing 140km/h was the worst offender in the past year.
Homemade devices to fool speed limiters found on 34 trucks ranged from simple metal loops known as "dog collars" to complex electronic pulse sensors.
Another 17 trucks had illegal radar detection devices.
The highway unit checked 3564 trucks last year and issued 4545 penalty notices.
About 60 per cent of the 182 drug charges related to amphetamines. A third involved marijuana -- often used to counter the effects of amphetamines.
One truckie tried to justify his drug use by claiming it was a life-saving safety measure.
"It stops you nodding off and going to sleep and running over people and killing them," he said.
Several drivers were charged with drug trafficking.
Guns were seized from three drug-toting truckies. Knives, a razor-sharp samurai sword and baseball bats were also seized.
Almost half the detected offences -- 2051 -- were drivers who had spent more time behind the wheel than legally allowed or who had made false or misleading log book entries. Acting Inspector Cully said officers pulled over a Queensland driver in Bairnsdale, headed to Melbourne, who'd been driving 16 1/2 hours. Another 1092 defect notices were issued for safety-related faults such as unroadworthy tyres and steering problems.
Fines were issued to 172 drivers for failing to wear a seatbelt.
Transport Workers Union boss Bill Noonan expressed little sympathy for rogue truckies.
"We don't get a big buzz out of drivers being fined but we have had the information out there and counselled people and . . . it's up to people to say no," he said.
Mr Noonan said more needed to be done to stop operators and customers making unrealistic demands on drivers.
Last month a Horsham truck company and four staff pleaded guilty to more than 300 charges and were fined $44,000 after a chain-of-responsibility investigation by the 18-strong highway unit, which took two members a year to complete.
"It's absolutely pathetic," Mr Lovel said. "We need a lot more resources in the police force to run decent cases on customers and operators breaking the law. We've been saying to TAC and government authorities, please give the police more resources -- lawyers -- to help them."
Some drivers and operators were driven by greed. Others were afraid to say no to customers' unrealistic deadlines.
