National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) on-road officers worked in partnership with police across Australia during the busy Christmas holiday period, identifying almost 200 fatigue-related offences including 17 critical breaches.
NHVR Chief Operations Officer Paul Salvati said Operation Omega saw increased patrols at identified high crash risk areas, at times when the risk of fatigue is the highest.
"With Australia tragically recording its highest road toll in over 10 years in 2024, operations like this one are critical to improving road safety," Mr Salvati said.
"Last year, there were 1,300 lives lost on our roads, with 179 of these lives lost in crashes involving a heavy vehicle - this is devastating and entirely preventable.
"The NHVR remains committed to reducing this alarming road toll, with Operation Omega a step in the right direction towards enhancing road safety and ensuring the well-being of heavy vehicle drivers and all other road users."
Operation Omega saw hundreds of officers at the roadside, conducting inspections and ensuring heavy vehicle drivers understood and were complying with their work and rest requirements across key freight routes.
Mr Salvati said over the course of two-weeks, NHVR Safety and Compliance Officers (SCOs) conducted 4,524 inspections across New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania, with the aim of keeping the roads safe during the busiest time of year.
"Of the total intercepts conducted by NHVR officers, 182 resulted in fatigue-related compliance action, with fatigue offences occurring at a higher rate during nighttime hours despite there being less vehicles on the road," he said.
"97 offences were detected during these intercepts for drivers exceeding their allowable work hours, or not taking adequate periods of rest, some recording false or misleading work diary entries.
"17 of these offences were classified as critical fatigue breaches, the most severe fatigue-related violation, each presenting the highest risk of a driver causing a deadly crash, risking their life, or someone else's.
"I would like to remind drivers and operators to remain vigilant when it comes to adhering to work and rest requirements - this is critical to reducing road trauma, with every life lost on our roads also representing a family and a group of loved ones that have been forced to go through unimaginable grief."
Mr Salvati said NHVR officers undertook their usual inform, educate and enforce approach to compliance, providing education to drivers in more than 1,000 of the intercepts conducted, accounting for almost 300 hours of roadside education during the two weeks.
"At the NHVR, we do not undertake 'blitzes', but rather focus our operations as an opportunity to inform and educate drivers ensuring they understand how to meet their safety obligations with enforcement only used as a secondary action where required," Mr Salvati explained.
"Work diary and fatigue-related education was provided in 623 of the intercepts conducted during Operation Omega, with the aim of creating a lasting impact on compliance and preventing potential fatigue-related incidents from occurring in the future."
However, Mr Salvati stressed that while the NHVR prioritises education, officers don't hesitate to enforce the Heavy Vehicle National Law for those intentionally doing the wrong thing.
"Unfortunately, we did detect 12 recidivist operators, with those companies receiving multiple fatigue-related offences during the two weeks.
"Companies must ensure their drivers are fit for work and aren't driving tired - those that don't, are putting other people's lives at risk.
In addition to the fatigue-related compliance, there were 742 intercepts with one or more mechanical defects identified throughout Operation Omega, with 1,477 defect components across all states - 185 of them major.
"We are urging drivers to complete daily safety checks of their vehicle, to ensure it is safe and ready for the journey," Mr Salvati said.
"No one should be killed or injured on our roads - we all need to focus on safety and reduce this preventable road trauma in 2025."
