Truckies denied compensation for safety checks as transport agency bills mount
Friday, 21 December 2018
The transport industry is unimpressed that operators will not be reimbursed for the cost of recertifying vehicles caught up in NZ Transport Agency safety alerts.
In its latest alert the agency has strongly advised heavy vehicle operators to check towing connections and components certified by Auckland-based heavy vehicle specialist certifier Patrick Chu of Transport & Structure Ltd, and to get them retested if any issues were identified.
The agency has revoked eight vehicle certifications done by Chu, and while it said it had yet to confirm how many vehicles were potentially impacted, Stuff understood it was about 900 and they ranged from trucks and motorhomes, to buses towing luggage trailers.
Road Transport Forum chief executive Nick Leggett said it was not clear what the recheck costs might be 'but we'd be looking for parity between domestic and commercial [vehicles]'.
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The agency has issued almost 25,000 free warrant of fitness vouchers to the owners of vehicles recalled for testing since a review of enforcement files was announced in mid October, and truckies are after similar compensation for recertification.
'If someone sanctioned by the agency has completed work and then it's discovered to be in question, operators have a right to some subsidisation,' Leggett said.
'There's a bit of water to go under the bridge, we'll want to see what the costs are and what's fair.'
Chu is one of four heavy vehicle specialist certifiers that the agency has suspended over safety concerns.
The others are Nelson's Peter Wastney, Dick Joyce of Lower Hutt and Adam McFarlane of Timaru. The latter's appointment has since been partially reinstated.
Road Transport chief executive Dennis Robertson said operators affected by Wastney's suspension had been reimbursed for recertification - which could run from $300 to $800 - and for remedial work.
'Everything that went into fixing the vehicle, apart from lost time.
'They'd pay for the certification, plus the fixing that needed to be done, so there's a big change in emphasis.'
Robertson said it appeared the agency and the Government now realised 'there's going to be more in the pipeline, it's going to be a big cost that they're not prepared to foot.'
The agency has stated it will recover the cost of retesting suspect WOFs from the outlets that issued them, but there will be no freebies for most heavy vehicle owners.
In the Wastney case, 1253 of 1863 revoked towing connections had been re-certified as at December 10.
'The agency agreed to cover the costs of inspections, repairs and replacements for the Peter Wastney recertifications due to the particular circumstances involved, including the potentially significant impact of the revocation action on local businesses in the upper South Island,' an agency spokesman said.
Law firm Meredith Connell is reviewing a backlog of 850 agency compliance files and in answer to a Parliamentary question, Transport Minister Phil Twyford said that by the end of November, the bill for the work was close to $1 million.