A truck and trailer unit carrying wood off-cuts after it rolled at an intersection in Nelson last September. Photo / Nelson Weekly
A truck and trailer unit carrying wood off-cuts after it rolled at an intersection in Nelson last September. Photo / Nelson Weekly
A truck driver's first day on the job ended badly when the heavy load she was hauling on a Nelson highway fell off the back of her truck, tipping her over before another vehicle ran over the pile of timber.
Her employer, Azwood Limited, which specialises in supplying carbon-neutral woodfuel, initially tried blaming the driver, but then back-tracked and took full responsibility.
The Nelson firm was today fined $750 in the Nelson District Court for the low-speed accident at a major city roundabout last September, which ended up blocking part of the highway in and out of the city for several hours. The company admitted a charge of operating a heavy motor vehicle with an insecure load.
Azwood Limited was the owner and operator of the truck and trailer unit when on the afternoon of September 20 it tipped at the roundabout while heading south towards State Highway 6 on Whakatu Drive.
A truck and trailer unit carrying wood off-cuts after it rolled at an intersection in Nelson last September. Photo / Nelson Weekly
The vehicle was loaded with a hook bin - a 20-foot shipping container modified to allow it to be lifted by a large hydraulic arm hook assembly on the truck. An investigation revealed that a main supporting rail beneath the container had bent when the vehicle turned, causing the container to move and break free, dragging the truck over with it.
The bin was fully laden with MDF (Medium Density Fibreboard) off-cuts when the unit rolled. The contents spilled onto the southbound lane of Whakatu Drive, blocking traffic for a "significant period". The truck driver received minor injuries but a driver also travelling south was unable to avoid the spillage and drove over it, causing significant damage to the vehicle.
The police summary said an investigation showed a weld on the rail which held the container was designed to provide structural rigidity, but had been broken for some time before the accident.
Police said the driver was on her first day, and was being supervised by a senior member of the company. Azwood told police it believed that once the bin was loaded onto the truck it should have been safe. The company initially told police, "the driver's speed, the camber of the intersection and the possibility she (the driver) may have clipped a kerb" contributed to the incident, but later back-tracked on that view.
Defence lawyer Mark Dollimore said the company didn't want to criticise the driver, and that it stood behind her. He noted the company's history as a safety conscious operator, including that it had two retired police officers on staff who helped develop operating protocols.
A company was fined in the Nelson District Court today after an accident involving one of its drivers.
WorkSafe had also commended the company for steps it had taken since the incident to improve operations.
Judge Jo Rielly said in sentencing the firm that while it was an unfortunate event, it could have caused "significant harm", and it was lucky no one was seriously injured.
"The company has taken this very seriously and has done everything it can to rectify the wrongs, including that it has offered to pay reparation to the owner of the damaged vehicle."
Azwood was given credit for its early guilty plea, which reduced the fine from a potential $1500 to $750 and was ordered to pay $800 in reparation.
