The New Zealand Police Commercial Vehicle Safety Team (CVST) says a recent compliance operation targeting freight and linehaul drivers in the ‘golden triangle’ resulted in fewer offences than predicted.
Operation Triangle was conducted from 6am on November 23 until 10pm on November 26 with police stationed at key locations.
The boundaries included the Hawke’s Bay on SH5 (Iwitahi, between Taupo and Napier), the Waikato SH3 (8 Mile Junction near Te Kuiti at the intersection of SH3 and 30) and at Turangi 50km south west of Taupo.
A total of 946 vehicle inspections were conducted during the operation. There were 484 commercial vehicle inspection reports completed, 136 offences detected and only 95 vehicle faults recognised in the 946 vehicles which were inspected, indicating a 10% defect rate.
Senior Sergeant Lex Soepnel, area manager of the Commercial Vehicle Safety Team, says a number of faults were related to lights on vehicles, followed by brakes and wheels needing attention.
“These are basic walk around faults that drivers could identify when they do their daily checks.
“The main offences detected during the operation were expired Certificates of Fitness, over loading, incorrect logbooks and work hours; then speed and transport licensing. A lot of the issues were with the single operator vehicles,” Soepnel says.
“The idea behind the operation was to improve the compliance rate for vehicle standards and the transportation of freight within the freight forwarding industry.
“Police and commercial vehicle partners were out in force with the aim to reduce crashes and the risk of crashes on our roads.
“Overall, we were pleased with the results and the actions of our linehaul drivers out there.
“It’s the drivers of single operator vehicles, where we found the majority of faults, so drivers and operators of these vehicles need to take more care and make some changes in their driver behaviour and procedures.
“In summary though, our stats show some very good results and it’s a credit to the industry as there were less offences than we predicted. So to those who are sticking to the rules – keep up the good work,” he says.
The CVST team members are roadside specialists and offer prevention, education and enforcement to commercial road users.
They educate road users with an emphasis on ‘restraints’, ‘impairments’, ‘distractions’ and ‘speed’ (RIDS).
“Firstly we educate on what happens when occupants are not being properly restrained in vehicles; also impairment, through alcohol, drugs or fatigue. We focus on distraction – drivers not paying full attention to the driving environment and lastly speed and how we educate people around driving at unsafe speeds,” Soepnel says.
