HEAVY VEHICLES

367 The Hon. G.M. GUNN (Stuart) (17 November 2008).

1. Is it the intention of the police to adhere to the undertakings given by the Minister for Transport during the recent debate of the new heavy vehicle legislation in the House of Assembly?

2. Will the police be adopting a reasonable approach to the new heavy vehicle laws given that many rural producers are facing severe economic distress?

3. Have the police been instructed to issue as many infringement notices as possible and if so, by whom?

The Hon. M.J. WRIGHT (Lee—Minister for Police, Minister for Emergency Services, Minister for Recreation, Sport and Racing) : The Road traffic (Heavy Driver Fatigue) Amendment Bill to which the member refers was developed nationally under the umbrella of the National Transport Commission. It came into effect on 29 September 2008 and applies to vehicles with a gross mass weight of over 12 tonnes or a bus with more than 12 seats, including the driver.

The legislation is specifically aimed at managing driver fatigue and set work and rest limits for drivers. Penalties for the new fatigue laws vary based on the severity of the breach and consequent risk to road safety, both of the driver and other road users. The penalties are categorised on risk base in a similar way to those applied to mass, dimension and loading offences. Breaches are categorised as minor, substantial, severe and critical with penalties imposed rising through the categories. Penalties range from loss of accreditation, supervisory intervention orders, demerit points, prohibition orders and fines. They are all in support of achieving safe working practices.

The police focus remains road safety. The new fatigue related laws had an education and transitional phase, which ran for three months to allow drivers and companies time to comply with the new provisions. The issue of a caution or discretionary action by police will always be relevant to the circumstances relating to any individual incident.