Division 1 Offences relating to unsafe loads

58   Unsafe loads

(cf Traffic Act, s 8C)

(1)  A person is guilty of an offence if:

(a)  the person knows, or ought reasonably to know, that a motor vehicle or trailer is loaded unsafely, and

(b)  the person drives or causes or permits the motor vehicle or trailer to be driven or to stand on a road or road related area, and

(c)  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).

(2)  The responsible person for a motor vehicle or trailer is guilty of an offence if:

(a)  the motor vehicle or trailer is loaded unsafely and is driven or stood on a road or road related area, and

(b)  the person knows, or ought reasonably to know, that the motor vehicle or trailer is loaded unsafely, and

(c)  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).

(3)  A person is guilty of an offence if:

(a)  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 or road related area, and

(b)  the person knows, or ought reasonably to know, that the motor vehicle or trailer is loaded unsafely, and

(c)  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).

(4)  It is a defence to a prosecution for an offence under this section if a person establishes that the person was not in a position to prevent the motor vehicle or trailer from being driven or stood on a road or road related area while loaded unsafely.

(5)  For the purposes of this section, a motor vehicle or trailer is loaded unsafely if:

(a)  a load on the motor vehicle or trailer is placed in a way that makes the motor vehicle or trailer unstable or unsafe, or

(b)  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

(c)  an appropriate method is not used to secure a load on the motor vehicle or trailer.

(6)  In proceedings for an offence under 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 Load Restraint Guide: Guidelines and performance standards for the safe carriage of loads on road vehicles, Second Edition, as published by the National Transport Commission in April 2004.

(7)  In this section:

motor vehicle includes a combination consisting of a motor vehicle connected to one or more vehicles.