A media release from the Australia New Zealand Policing Advisory Agency (ANZPAA) proclaims this years’ “Operation Austrans” got underway weekend before last and will run for the month of May. Operation Austrans was incepted across Australia in 1989 and focuses on the heavy vehicle industry, targeting a number of offences including speeding, driver fatigue & impairment, vehicle registration & load offences.
Operation Austrans is conducted each year in May with officers now also passing possible “Chain of Responsibility” (CoR) breaches onto the relevant state regulatory authorities, with information shared between the various state agencies. The operation is a joint effort by Police forces across Australia with the focus to improve road safety by monitoring compliance with road & operational safety issues within the heavy vehicle road transport sector.
The National results for 2009 vs 2010 shown below are for heavy vehicle offences (vehicles >4.5Tonnes GVM) only.
| Offence Categories | 2009 | 2010 | % increase / decrease |
| Speeding / Due care | 1,054 | 807 | -23.4% |
| Seat belts | 476 | 489 | 2.7% |
| Work Diary | 1,992 | 1,799 | -9.7% |
| Drug offences (other than OFA) | 38 | 39 | 2.6% |
| Drug offenders | 34 | 61 | 79.4% |
| Drink driving offenders | 14 | 17 | 21.4% |
| Exceed Mass (Over load) | 1,487 | 1,340 | -9.9% |
| Exceed dimensions | 372 | 395 | 6.2% |
| Load restraint | 366 | 357 | -2.5% |
| Other | 2,016 | 1,240 | -38.5% |
| Defect notices | 5,811 | 9,734 | 67.5% |
| Permit breaches | 427 | 528 | 23.7% |
| Unlicensed / Suspended / Disqualified | 232 | 294 | 26.7% |
| Dangerous Goods / OHS offences | 57 | 153 | 168.4% |
National comparison 2009 vs 2010 by vehicle type (Offences for vehicles > 4.5 Tonnes GVM):
| Vehicle Categories | 2009 | 2010 |
| Articulated | 19,599 | 17,356 |
| Road Train | 2,685 | 5,547 |
| B Double | 11,886 | 9,282 |
| Rigid truck | 14,179 | 17,958 |
| Coach / Bus | 1,149 | 1,407 |
| Other | 0 | 0 |
This initiative now in its 22nd year, is an annual national Police effort coordinated by the Australia New Zealand Policing Advisory Agency (ANZPAA). According to figures released by ANZPAA, there was an overall increase of 20% in offences.
The three worst performing categories in the comparison between 2009 & 2010 are:
- Dangerous Goods / OHS offences (168.4% increase over 2009)
- Drug offenders (up 79.4%) &
- Defect notices (up 67.5%).
Most improved areas are:
- Speeding / due care (down 23.4%)
- Exceed Mass (down 9.9%)
- Work diary (down 9.7%)
There are no specific figures provided for the breakup up Australian vs New Zealand road transport operations.
There are also no recent legislative changes other than the full implementation of the 7th Edition of the Dangerous Goods Code, which would be the catalyst for the jump in DG / OHS offences.
