A former truck driver who breached heavy vehicle regulations and was caught without emergency braking and inadequately fastened cargo has been fined $5000. The man appeared at Wangaratta Magistrates’ Court on Monday and pleaded guilty to 10 charges related to being classified as high as a critical risk on the roads and submitting false or misleading work diary records. The court heard police intercepted a Volvo B-double truck southbound on the Hume Freeway near Glenrowan on 10 March last year. The Campbellfield-based driver gave his work records which revealed he had worked as much as two hours more than the maximum of 12 within a 24-hour day. He was also found to have submitted false or misleading work diary entries, as found out by CCTV footage and fuel receipts. Upon police inspection of the truck, officers found goods were insufficiently secured on his trailer, wheel nut retainers were loose or missing and the EBS brakes weren’t connected. Representing himself, the man said he was confused as he thought he could work under basic fatigue management regulation hours, which include the ability to work up to 14 hours. He said he didn’t know how the EBS brakes weren’t connected or why his loads weren’t secured properly. After having his licence suspended, he no longer drove trucks and was in Australia on a student visa. Magistrate Megan Casey imposed a $5000 fine without conviction, noting it was the man’s first time before the court in breach of national heavy vehicle regulations. “If you had to brake suddenly and your emergency brakes aren’t connected, it could’ve killed you or anyone else in your way,” she said.
