Article: Overhaul of heavy vehicle registration laws could result in more trucks

[ozbob]

From News.com.au click here!

Overhaul of heavy vehicle registration laws could result in more trucks on suburban roads

Overhaul of heavy vehicle registration laws could result in more trucks on suburban roads

    Rhys Haynes
    The Daily Telegraph
    January 26, 2012 12:00AM

AN OVERHAUL of heavy vehicle registration laws could result in more trucks on suburban roads, transport industry experts warned yesterday.

The Australasian Railway Association said moves to lower registration costs for larger trucks by almost $9000 would increase the size and numbers of heavy vehicles, raising safety concerns for other motorists.

The call comes as the state government confirmed its officers were called by NSW Police to the scene of the triple fatality at Menangle on Tuesday, to investigate the compliance of the truck involved.

"Roads and Maritime Services (formerly RTA) compliance and enforcement officers attended the crash scene at Menangle," a spokeswoman said.

"RMS regularly attends fatality crashes involving heavy vehicles. NSW Police are investigating the crash, therefore it is inappropriate to comment further."Larger truck registration fees could fall by $8700 annually in a proposal released by the National Transport Commission.

"The NTC proposal is essentially a subsidy to encourage more trucks on our roads," Australasian Railway Association chief Bryan Nye said. "If this gets the green light, Australians will share their roads with more and more large trucks."

Rail freight is nine times safer and three to four times more energy efficient than road freight, he said.

The NTC says current registration charges encourage the use of smaller, less economically efficient trucks.

[Dean Quick]

Has been revealed that the trucking company involved in this tragedy has been under investigation and caught illegally altering the speed limiters and fuel governors on its trucks and has a history of indescretions with N.S.W police. Truck driver at fault has been charged. For many years the trucking industry has been able to grow into the monster that it is today with little to no checks by the roads authorities. It is time that the various authorities charged with overseeing this out of control monster showed some backbone and sweep through the trucking industry with a very large and widesweeping broom to weed out these rogue operators and clean up the industry as a whole. Truck registrations should be increased, inspections increased, fuel tax credits abolished and fines for companies/individuals who ignore/break the laws massively increased. I am fed up with my taxes being used to subsidise these ruthless trucking companies.