POLICE CAVED IN TO TRUCK FIRMS: CLAIM

Victorian police had dropped fines against trucking companies under
pressure from "heavyweights" in the troubled industry, it was alleged at an
inquiry yesterday.

The inquiry was told that several police officers were being disciplined
after hundreds of charges for overloading trucks were dropped.

The allegations were made by an accident insurance investigator at an
inquiry into the safety of Australia's long-haul trucking industry.

Greg Hooper, a former federal police officer and independent investigator,
said the powerful vested interests of the trucking industry brought great
pressure to bear on the authorities.

Despite recent efforts to clean up the industry, the inquiry heard that
trucking was rife with fraud and drugs because of the intense competitive
pressures on truck drivers, who were captive to "greedy" operators trying
to cut freight costs.

Mr Hooper told the inquiry insurance companies were ignoring the problems
of defective trucks for fear of losing premiums, and owners could not
afford proper maintenance because of high overheads.

"If you were to tell the public the truth it would frighten them," Mr
Hooper said. "There would be a huge outcry and it would bring the industry
to a screaming halt."

He said companies forced drivers to break the law by speeding and supplied
them with drugs to stay awake.

The Transport Workers Union warned truckies would leave the industry in
"droves" because operators and drivers were struggling to survive. There
had been a 176 per cent increase in repossessions since July and some
operators were using GST payments to ensure cashflow.

"No one can deny that the long-distance trucking industry is in a state of
deepening and continuing crisis," the TWU submission said.

"If this continues to be the case the sustainability of the industry is
limited."

The inquiry heard surveys showed 30 per cent of drivers used drugs to stay
awake, up to 50 per cent exceeded the speed limit, and there was a high
driver suicide rate.

"The whole transport culture is built around the need to be unsafe to be
financially viable," truck driver Keith Brimley told the inquiry.

Forged logbooks were a "safety issue not a safety fix", he said.

Another driver, Jerry Brown, said freight rates forced fatigued drivers to
take drugs, including heroin, to stay awake or face hundreds of dollars in
penalties by companies.

Police had told union officials they were not willing to risk their
members' lives to pull over a dozen trucks speeding at 130kmh tail-to-tail
to avoid identification by speed cameras.

Union official Mal Fraser alleged one truckie had been assaulted after his
wife threatened to go to the media about the poor maintenance standards of
the trucks.

The national inquiry, headed by Professor Michael Quinlan and funded by the
New South Wales Motor Accidents Authority, is due to report to the NSW
Government in September.

A police spokesman yesterday declined to comment on the allegations made at
the inquiry.