Truck safety investigation uncovers brake failure

WELLINGTON: An investigation into truck safety problems has revealed the autobrakes failed on a fullyloaded trailer that came loose on a highway.

The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) investigation is also looking into whether heavy vehicle certifers have been signing off towing connections by looking at photos instead of checking them in person.

The autobrakes, designed to immediately stop any trailer that comes loose, failed on a 48tonne trucktrailer that snapped off and careened across State Highway 6 and into a bank last August.

Noone was hurt, but the incident helped prompt a safety alert this year.

NZTA has blamed the failure on ‘‘poor maintenance standards’’ on the unit.

NZTA cut its heavy vehicle compliance team of a dozen in half in 2014, even as more and larger 50tonne, 700horsepower trucks were being allowed on the road. Now it is adding five auditors and engineers.

It started bringing in other changes last year, aimed at making targeted checks based on ‘‘intelligence’’, in place of a broadbrush approach to auditing certifiers.

NZTA is also introducing extra inspections of semitrailers, plus rules for getting trucks modified so corrosion can be spotted more easily.

A safety sweep in Nelson has led to 500 heavy vehicles being recertified, with another 400 needing even more work, such as repairs or replacement towing parts, despite being on the road up until recently. Another 500 vehicles still need to be inspected.

In a second round of safety inspections of 1000 refrigerated semitrailers nationwide, big reputable operators found problems.

Hall’s in Auckland had to repair or replace 12 towing connections, mostly due to cracks, after checks on 150 trucks.

Hall’s raised semitrailer design and safety concerns with the agency in March 2017.

But NZTA said it could not provide any further details while the investigation was under way, ‘‘as any such evidence could be used to support decisions to suspend or revoke the certification authority of the individuals under investigation’’.

NZTA has also refused or delayed six Official Information Act requests, saying it is because investigations are ongoing.

Industry insiders will not talk publicly for fear of jeopardising contracts or becoming a target of the agency or trucking industry. Those who have talked to Radio New Zealand on the basis of anonymity include certifiers, truck operators and other engineers.

‘‘This sort of thing has been a timebomb ticking away for the last few years and I think that the problem is even worse than reported,’’ one said.

‘‘A lot of engineers in the heavy vehicle side, they are out of their depth really,’’ another said.

Two certifiers estimate 510% of the 80strong workforce of heavy vehicle certifiers were either deliberately cutting corners to capture business, out of their depth or under such pressure from overwork they were prone to mistakes.

One insider said: ‘‘I could name four or five other certifiers which I’d be very surprised the Transport Agency is not looking at.’’

It had taken too long to get to this point, an industry veteran said, adding ‘‘NZTA’s auditing of certifiers is a joke’’.

‘‘Like all modernday audits, if the paper trail is correct then the job must have been done well.

‘‘The physical aspect of the certification process only rates as of minor importance.’’

Two other sources raised the problem of heavier truck designs relying on lighter-grade, highertensile steel that is much harder to weld, and that while the welders were qualified, the welding process was not being inspected as it should be.

Other issues included questions about braking standards.

‘‘The brake rule . . . was introduced in 1991 and it contained errors. Those errors exist today despite industry groups trying to get them rectified,’’ an excertifier said.

An agency proposal to allow the maximum tyre pressure for some trucks to rise from 825 to 900 KPA was also a problem.

The agency said this was for safety and fuel efficiency; however, it puts more stress on the trailer and the road.

❛ This sort of thing has been a timebomb ticking away for the last few years and I think that the problem is even worse than reported