The National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR)'s Safety and Compliance Officers (SCOs) intercepted more than 2,200 buses during Operation Solstice finding concerning results, including substantial fatigue offences and a speeding school bus.
NHVR Chief Operations Officer Paul Salvati said Operation Solstice was a huge effort by all involved and was crucial to improving safety within the industry following a number of tragic crashes involving buses over the past few years.
"Operation Solstice targeted a range of critical compliance areas including ensuring buses were properly maintained and mechanically safe, and that drivers were complying with their work and rest hours," Mr Salvati said.
"With more than 80 lives lost in crashes involving a bus in the past five years, we knew more needed to be done so the community can have every confidence in the fact that buses, which are a vital part of our transport system, will get them to their destination safely.
"Before the operation commenced, the NHVR hosted a series of educational webinars for the bus industry to discuss safety concerns and provide a briefing on the upcoming Operation Solstice - discussing key topics like fatigue, Chain of Responsibility and vehicle standards.
"While we know most drivers do the right thing, the results of this month-long operation demonstrate that not all drivers and operators within the industry are compliant or are aware of their safety obligations under the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL).
"We found an overall non-compliance rate of 19.1% with mechanical and fatigue the highest areas of offending, although on a positive note, most mechanical non-compliance was minor.
"While this non-compliance rate is lower than what we usually see amongst general heavy vehicles, given the cargo carried by buses, this is still a concern."
Mr Salvati said NHVR SCOs worked closely with police in Queensland, New South Wales, Tasmania and South Australia, conducting intercepts in high-risk locations to ensure safety was never compromised.
"At the NHVR, we don't conduct 'blitzes', and during Operation Solstice our SCOs provided more than 80 hours of education, with more than 53 hours spent educating drivers on work diaries and how to fill them out correctly," he said.
"The NHVR issued 39 infringements and offence reports during the operation, mainly for fatigue related offending, ranging from drivers failing to accurately record critical information in their work diary, to substantial breaches by exceeding maximum work hours.
"This is in addition to 35 fatigue related formal warnings issued in Victoria alone.
"Any fatigue offence, no matter how minor, can have tragic outcomes for the bus driver, passengers, and other road users - and the last thing we want to see is another devastating bus crash occur on Australia's roads.
"While it's imperative that drivers are managing their fatigue and accurately filling out their work diaries, companies also have a responsibility to ensure their drivers are fit for work and aren't getting behind the wheel tired."
NHVR Principal SCO Charlie Khaissi said several concerning offences were found in Victoria, with officers working closely with Safe Transport Victoria during the operation to ensure buses were travelling safely across the state.
"Unfortunately, we intercepted one driver travelling at 85 kilometres per hour in a work zone, more than double the speed limit, with eight school children on board," said Mr Khaissi.
"In a separate incident, our officers intercepted a bus travelling to Melbourne with 16 passengers on board, uncovering 19 false entries in the driver's work diary - this is a clear example of where enforcement is required.
"Our efforts to prevent bus-related crashes are far from over - the NHVR will continue to work alongside the industry and our partners to create meaningful change on our roads, and to ensure everyone who boards a bus arrives home to their families, friends and loved ones safely."
The NHVR has received strong support from bus industry partners and will continue collaborative efforts to improve safety and compliance within the industry, to create safer roads for all.
Vision of Operation Solstice in action can be found here.
