Stiffer penalties for road spills backed

Press, 8 March 1984, Page 14

Stiffer penalties for road spills backed

PA Wellington Stiffer penalties against truck drivers and companies who allow dangerous "substances to leak on roads are supported by the Contractors’ Federation. The contractors have warned that policing a new law will not be easy.

The Ministry of Transport is looking towards stiffer penalties against spillages after a serious accident, caused by a spillage of diesel from a truck. A car went out of control after hitting the spillage and hit a telegraph pole, seriously injuring a passenger. The truck-driver was convicted for failing to report a dangerous substance on the road. However, he was discharged on appeal because

the court found he had taken reasonable steps to deal with the leak, by alerting his employer. The employer had failed to report the spillage. The case exposed a loophole in the law, which makes drivers liable to a maximum fine of $2OO and possible disqualification. The Ministry considered there should be provision to prosecute the employer if he had not acted on a driver’s warning.

Suggested penalties by the Ministry are a maximum $2OOO for the driver or employer, a mandatory three-month disqualification if the driver has failed to take adequate steps to inform the authorities and a

lesser fine of $5OO if he has.

The transport committee of the Contractors’ Federation met this week and decided that the policy of contractors would be to support sterner measures.

The federation’s director, Mr Robert McKnight, said a letter had been sent to the Ministry backing improved road safety measures. The contractors believed sterner measures should be backed by education about the dangers of spills and the legal obligations for drivers and employers.

The federation also thinks there may be difficulties in enforcing the sterner law, given the difficulty of tracing a spillage to the offending vehicle.