Drugged-up truck drivers lethal on our roads

Drugged-up truck drivers are putting lives at risk --- and the Government must take urgent action to address the root causes, says Labour’s Transport Safety Spokesperson Iain Lees-Galloway.

Operation AUSTRANS --- a multi-agency Australasian enforcement operation targeting fatigue, drug use and other road safety issues in the heavy vehicle road transport sector --- has shown that drug use, particularly methamphetamines and other stimulants, is rife in the heavy vehicle industry.

“The reason for this is clear,” Iain Lees-Galloway said. “Drivers under pressure to meet extreme deadlines use whatever means they can to stay awake longer and drive further to make sure they hit their targets. Some resort to drug use to keep them going.

“The Government should hold an open inquiry into the causes of drug use in the transport industry.

“Contract rates, wages, time pressures and industry culture should all be amongst the issues the Government examines.

“Research from the Australian Transport Council and the New Zealand Ministry of Transport show that heavy vehicles account for 18 per cent of all road fatalities in New Zealand and Australia, equating to 65 deaths in New Zealand every year, even though heavy vehicles make up around just four per cent of the vehicles on the road.

“The Government cannot allow so many lives to continue to be put at risk,” Iain Lees-Galloway said.

”It must act now, examine the issues and make the legislative changes necessary to reduce the danger on our roads caused by drugged truck drivers.”