Magistrate Stratmann had some strong words to say to B-double truck drivers who had not taken sufficient breaks while driving, and a company with a heavily overloaded truck.

Under the national parameters, the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator administers one set of laws for heavy vehicles over 4.5 tonnes gross vehicle mass. It consists of the national law and four sets of regulations.

Rio Mira Pty Ltd business manager, Kylie Owen represented the company in court on Monday, charged with a breach of the HVNL.

Owens pleaded guilty to having a heavy transport vehicle carrying a load weighing 30.8% over the allowed mass weight.

“You realise this breach carries a maximum penalty of almost $80,000?“ the magistrate asked.

The court was told that at 11.18am on 6 February 2018, a truck driven by Craigieburn driver David Owens was directed by police on to the weighbridge at Bungaree.

The truck was carrying a 31 tonne railway tamper from Melbourne to Ararat and weighed in at 22 080 kg; 5080 kilograms more than the allowed limit of 16,500. Despite being an over-sized load, the court was told that the positioning of the load and the “weight over the axle” was the issue.

Owens said he blamed himself because he had loaded that way before and the weight had been okay, but this was the first time he had transported a tamper.

Rio Mira was fined $5000 and court costs of $82.40, and no conviction was recorded.

Two B-double truck drivers were also fined for breaches of the Heavy Vehicle National law in Monday’s court proceedings after being picked up at the Bungaree weighbridge.  

At 12.05 pm on 29 November 2017, a Brisbane driver was charged after his work diary was checked, revealing he had worked 15 and half hours without a break.

Under the National Law, heavy vehicle drivers can only work 12 continuous hours in a 24 hour period. Penalties can be as much as $16,000, which Magistrate Stratmann said was an indication of “how seriously driver fatigue is viewed” in heavy vehicles.

The driver said “he didn’t know about the rules” because he “hadn’t been driving trucks very long” and his load had been delayed that day which had extended his shift. He was fined $2500 and costs.

“Everyone in this country, wants to feel safe when approaching a B-double (truck),” the magistrate said.

Another driver of a B-double prime mover transporting livestock from near Ballan was charged with breaching the allowed hours on two occasions - 7 December and 8 November 2017.

The man, 52, said he had been driving for many years and that “the rules had changed a lot in that time.”

“You are on the road, you are driving, you are carrying livestock. If you are fatigued, you are a risk to other drivers,” the magistrate said and imposed a $2500 fine and court costs.