Hundreds of infringements have been issued to non-compliant trucks in Auckland after a crack down on “safety-related defects”.
The Police Commercial Vehicle Safety Team and NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi vehicle inspectors worked 24/7 at the Bombay Commercial Vehicle Safety Centre.
Over the period of a week at the start of August, 22 CVST officers inspected 520 heavy commercial vehicles which travelled through the southern region of Auckland to ensure they were safe and compliant.
Over the period, 309 commercial vehicle inspection reports were completed, with 196 of them resulting in infringement or enforcement action – almost two-thirds.
Forty-one formal written warnings were given, as well as 273 infringement notices and nine prosecutions as a result of the operation.
Sergeant Gareth Davis said the objective was to improve driver compliance and heavy vehicle standards to reduce the risk of crashes.
Davis said vehicle inspections included the use of the of two roller brake testing machines as well as visual inspections and the use of the shaker plates.
“We had one truck and trailer combination that was fully loaded that failed the brake roller test, which basically means the brakes are inefficient,” he explained.
He said that vehicle pink-stickered for a “non operation order for the truck and trailer”, meaning the only place it could go was to the repair shop.
Forty non-operation orders – green or pink stickers – were issued for serious safety related vehicle defects.
“While there was a clear focus on compliance and vehicle safety, we also looked at log books and performed alcohol testing.”
He said none of the 92 oral fluid tests returned positive for alcohol.
Commercial Vehicle Safety Team staff encouraged all commercial vehicles and drivers to operate within the safety regulations to protect the road network and all road users at all times.
Police said similar 24/7 operations would be carried out in the future, in conjunction with NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi.