Subscribe to RSSTruckie Firm Prosecuted
An Auckland transport firm has been prosecuted for allowing its drivers to breach work time and log book rules.
Labour says this is indicative of a bigger problem in the trucking industry and the government must take it more seriously.
Labour’s Transport Safety spokesperson Darien Fenton says while it’s good that there has been a successful prosecution under the Chain of Responsibility laws, they have been few and far between since the legislation was introduced.
She says that the legislation recognises that all players in the transport chain can be held accountable for breaches by drivers and owners.
“There were nearly 5000 offence notices to individual truck drivers for breaching log books and work time rules in the past two years, but the connection between those breaches and the squeezing of contracts by players further up the chain is not being made.
“Owner drivers have been telling me that they are working long hours, scrimping on maintenance and taking risks because of the low rates of pay and tight margins.
“Meanwhile, truck related accidents continue to cause one death a week on average, and many more lives ruined by injuries.
“I have called for an inquiry into whether there is a link between rates of pay and the safety issues in the industry, but so far, the Minister has ignored the problem.” says Ms Fenton.
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