Recent Incidents Point to Work
Mike Spiers (of the LTSC) has made the following comments:
The two incidents noted below, while still under investigation by the Police Commercial Vehicle Safety Unit (CVSU) are part of a concerning trend of rollover incidents. After a long period of relative calm, we find ourselves with many more incidents than we should. The Log Transport Safety Council (LTSC) is reviewing the data, particularly the regional spread of the incidents to understand if training e.g. the A Pathway To Success training programme is leading to better outcomes in the areas where this has been delivered. The LTSC has also published the 50-max HPMV brochure to help educate drivers of these units. While most of our rollovers have not resulted in injury and have been out of public view, some more recent incidents have been very high profile and have either seriously harmed the drivers or could have had dire impacts on public safety under slightly altered circumstances! One thing we do know, driver training and education are essential!
Background - Noggin incident INC1324 27/08/18
A loaded logging truck on its second and last round was traveling on SH35 just west of the Haparapara Bridge, near Omaio forest. The trailer tracked into the water table and the driver lost control of the unit, which rolled over spilling its load across both lanes. This was the second such incident that day occurring within kilometres of each other!
Background - Noggin incident INC1329 31/08/18
A loaded truck rolled its trailer onto its side at the Hemo George roundabout in Rotorua. The logs dropped onto the road and down across a walkway tunnel, which is located beneath the roundabout. Fortunately, no one was walking or cycling through the tunnel at that time!
Mike Spiers, Regional Manager, PF Olsen Ltd, is a current serving member of the LTSC and a former log truck owner driver. The LTSC can be contacted as follows: Bruce Nairn - LTSC Secretary‚ TEL: +64 027 943 695 Email: ltsc@logtruck.co.nz
View this article in Safety Bulletin 115