Offences involving death, injury or damage resulting from unsafe loads
145 Offences involving death, injury or damage resulting from unsafe loads
A person is guilty of an offence if—
the person knows, or ought reasonably to know, that a motor vehicle or trailer is loaded unsafely, and
the person drives or causes or permits the motor vehicle or trailer to be driven or to stand on a road, and
death or personal injury to a person, or damage to property (other than the motor vehicle, trailer or load), occurs while the motor vehicle or trailer is being so driven or stood because it is loaded unsafely.
Maximum penalty—50 penalty units or imprisonment for 12 months or both (in the case of an individual) or 100 penalty units (in the case of a corporation).
The responsible person for a motor vehicle or trailer is guilty of an offence if—
the motor vehicle or trailer is loaded unsafely and is driven or stood on a road, and
the person knows, or ought reasonably to know, that the motor vehicle or trailer is loaded unsafely, and
death or personal injury to a person, or damage to property (other than the motor vehicle, trailer or load), occurs while the motor vehicle or trailer is being so driven or stood because it is loaded unsafely.
Maximum penalty—50 penalty units or imprisonment for 12 months or both (in the case of an individual) or 100 penalty units (in the case of a corporation).
A person is guilty of an offence if—
the person is a director of, or a person concerned in the management of, a corporation that is the responsible person for a motor vehicle or trailer that is loaded unsafely and is driven or stood on a road, and
the person knows, or ought reasonably to know, that the motor vehicle or trailer is loaded unsafely, and
death or personal injury to a person, or damage to property (other than the motor vehicle, trailer or load), occurs while the motor vehicle or trailer is being so driven or stood because it is loaded unsafely.
Maximum penalty—50 penalty units or imprisonment for 12 months or both (in the case of an individual) or 100 penalty units (in the case of a corporation).
It is a defence to a prosecution for an offence against this section if the defendant proves to the court’s satisfaction that the defendant was not in a position to prevent the motor vehicle or trailer from being driven or stood on a road while loaded unsafely.
For the purposes of this section, a motor vehicle or trailer is loaded unsafely if—
a load on the motor vehicle or trailer is placed in a way that makes the motor vehicle or trailer unstable or unsafe, or
a load on the motor vehicle or trailer is not secured in such a way that it is unlikely to fall or be dislodged from the motor vehicle or trailer, or
an appropriate method is not used to secure a load on the motor vehicle or trailer.
In proceedings for an offence against this section, it is sufficient to prove that a motor vehicle or trailer was loaded unsafely if the prosecution proves that the load on the vehicle or trailer was not placed, secured or restrained in a way that met the performance standards recommended in the following documents published by the National Transport Commission as in force from time to time—
in respect of heavy vehicles—the Load Restraint Guide 2018,
in respect of light vehicles—the Load Restraint Guide for Light Vehicles 2018.
In this section—
motor vehicle includes a combination consisting of a motor vehicle connected to one or more vehicles.
This Act’s bill:Explanatory memorandumSecond reading speech
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