The NSW Government will cancel the registrations of more trucks that are flouting overheight load restrictions in Sydney's road tunnels after striking an agreement with the National Heavy Vehicle (NHVR) Regulator today.
Following a meeting between Minister for Roads John Graham and NHVR chairman Duncan Gay and Acting Chief Executive Ray Hassall, the scope has been widened for NSW to take action more often to remove heavy vehicles from the road for up to six months when they have been responsible for overheight breaches.
The NHVR has agreed to refer all overheight breaches at tunnels as "aggravated" events because even the smallest breach is repeatedly threatening safety on Sydney roads and causing chaos and congestion to city traffic, particularly at the busy entrance to the Sydney Harbour Tunnel.
Under the existing national regulation of heavy vehicles, Transport for NSW can deregister trucks and take them off the road once the NHVR has referred an incident as "aggravated circumstances".
In future all tunnel overheight incidents will be deemed aggravated no matter what the level of the breach and Transport for NSW will be able to take action against owners and operators more often.
At the same time, the NSW Government is strengthening advance warning systems and raising awareness through driver education in collaboration with the NHVR.
The Government has approved the NSW Government has approved the deployment of $5 million in infrastructure upgrades, which will include moving sensors further back along the Warringah Freeway to ensure heavy vehicle drivers can take earlier evasive action to avoid blocking traffic at the tunnel portal.
Minister Graham said:
"I want to thank the NHVR for working collaboratively with us to send a clear warning to those minority of owners and truck drivers who are still not getting the message about overheight restrictions in tunnels.
"Today's agreement shows the NSW Government has zero tolerance for these city-choking breaches and we hope that the threat of losing a heavy vehicle to a registration ban is a message that is not missed in the quarters of the industry that are still ignoring the rules around trip planning and load height.
"We are under no illusion at the potential economic impact for companies and individuals to lose a heavy vehicle for six months, but we are determined to address this intolerable situation on our roads."
Mr Gay said:
"The NHVR has zero tolerance for overheight trucks entering tunnels and I completely understand the frustration and impact these incidents are causing the Sydney community.
"The NHVR is committed to working closely with the NSW Government and the decision for the NHVR to trigger automatic referrals following overheight incidents will allow Transport for NSW to make informed decisions on registration or licenses.
"This issue needs to be tackled using preventative as well as enforcement measures. The NHVR is committed to working with our partners to raise better awareness for operators and drivers.
"Operators and drivers are again urged to measure the height of their truck and plan their journey ahead of time to ensure they comply with tunnel height clearances."
