The trucking industry’s safety accreditation program, TruckSafe, was formally recognised by the Victorian Government as an industry code of practice under the state’s Road Safety Act.
This will make it easier for TruckSafe accredited operators to prove they have taken reasonable steps to prevent breaches of road safety laws.
Provisions of the Victorian Road Safety Act mean that operators and other parties in the supply chain are required to take ‘all reasonable steps’ to prevent contraventions of the speed, fatigue, and mass, dimension and load restraint laws.
Under the Act, if a person accused of a chain of responsibility breach can prove they complied with all relevant standards and practices in relation to matters to which the breach relates, that is evidence that the person or business took all reasonable steps to prevent the offence.
TruckSafe is now a registered industry code of practice under the Act.