1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:01,920 Speaker 1: And we need to tighten our trucking laws. Apparently the 2 00:00:01,920 --> 00:00:04,520 Speaker 1: industry want the NZTA to have the power to impound. 3 00:00:04,600 --> 00:00:06,840 Speaker 1: Now this follow is the case. We're a previously band truck, 4 00:00:07,280 --> 00:00:10,280 Speaker 1: the brakes failed and killed the road worker. Justin T. 5 00:00:10,400 --> 00:00:13,320 Speaker 1: Gumbers is the chief executive of the National Road Carriers Association, 6 00:00:13,480 --> 00:00:16,560 Speaker 1: is with us, Justin morning to you. I like that 7 00:00:17,079 --> 00:00:19,720 Speaker 1: very well. And how does the MZTA fit into it? 8 00:00:19,800 --> 00:00:22,079 Speaker 1: And how would you put I mean, what's wrong with 9 00:00:22,079 --> 00:00:24,000 Speaker 1: the police for goodness sake and the laws we got currently? 10 00:00:25,160 --> 00:00:29,520 Speaker 2: Yeah, what NZTA do is they're the regular auditor of 11 00:00:29,560 --> 00:00:32,440 Speaker 2: transport operators, so trucks that are like cars, they get 12 00:00:32,720 --> 00:00:34,520 Speaker 2: caught by the system in terms of needing a whiff 13 00:00:34,600 --> 00:00:37,640 Speaker 2: or a certificate of fitness as they're called. MNGTA also 14 00:00:37,680 --> 00:00:41,120 Speaker 2: conduct audits on transport operators to make sure that fleets 15 00:00:41,159 --> 00:00:43,360 Speaker 2: and vehicles are up to the standard they need to carry, 16 00:00:43,440 --> 00:00:46,360 Speaker 2: you know, large loads fifty tons and beyond. The police 17 00:00:46,400 --> 00:00:49,519 Speaker 2: are out there, they're certainly doing their checks. The problem 18 00:00:49,600 --> 00:00:52,280 Speaker 2: is it's just a case of likelihood to get caught 19 00:00:52,320 --> 00:00:54,240 Speaker 2: because you've got one hundred and sixty eight thousand heavy 20 00:00:54,320 --> 00:00:58,360 Speaker 2: vehicles out there, so really important that MNGTA have the 21 00:00:58,400 --> 00:01:01,080 Speaker 2: ability when they need to to get unsafe trucks off 22 00:01:01,080 --> 00:01:01,440 Speaker 2: the road. 23 00:01:01,920 --> 00:01:05,360 Speaker 1: Is this a singular case or is there more out there. 24 00:01:07,120 --> 00:01:10,000 Speaker 2: Well, there's a really tragic case last year where a 25 00:01:10,080 --> 00:01:12,360 Speaker 2: road worker was tragedy held and rendew ere by a 26 00:01:12,400 --> 00:01:14,920 Speaker 2: truck that should never have been on the road. The 27 00:01:15,000 --> 00:01:17,160 Speaker 2: park breaks failed because it hadn't been maintained at all, 28 00:01:17,280 --> 00:01:19,240 Speaker 2: hadn't been maintained for a number of years, and it 29 00:01:19,280 --> 00:01:22,039 Speaker 2: had been it had been picked up by the system 30 00:01:22,160 --> 00:01:25,959 Speaker 2: numerous times as well. So look, it is an outside task. 31 00:01:26,080 --> 00:01:30,399 Speaker 2: The vast majority of transport operators do maintain their vehicles, 32 00:01:30,400 --> 00:01:33,440 Speaker 2: but there is a handful of very small minority. They 33 00:01:33,600 --> 00:01:37,800 Speaker 2: just flagrantly ignore the law. They don't care. It will 34 00:01:37,800 --> 00:01:40,240 Speaker 2: never happen to me. I'll get away with it. And 35 00:01:40,280 --> 00:01:42,840 Speaker 2: they're the ones that the system's not currently set up 36 00:01:43,360 --> 00:01:47,200 Speaker 2: to grab. And while the police have a compounded truck, 37 00:01:47,319 --> 00:01:50,160 Speaker 2: MNGTA don't. And I think when m GTA as a 38 00:01:50,240 --> 00:01:53,400 Speaker 2: last resort see that there's a there's a flagrant operator 39 00:01:53,440 --> 00:01:56,680 Speaker 2: who's just refusing to follow the wolf rules, that can 40 00:01:56,680 --> 00:01:57,559 Speaker 2: put the vehicle away. 41 00:01:57,720 --> 00:02:00,640 Speaker 1: And would these be sole or small operation or of 42 00:02:00,680 --> 00:02:02,560 Speaker 1: the fleets out there that would be problematic. 43 00:02:03,880 --> 00:02:07,600 Speaker 2: Yeah, look, it's often sold or smaller operators. It can 44 00:02:07,640 --> 00:02:09,639 Speaker 2: be a mixture of both. But the reality is even 45 00:02:09,639 --> 00:02:12,200 Speaker 2: the large fleets might they're made up of lots of 46 00:02:12,280 --> 00:02:16,720 Speaker 2: individual smaller operators, and the smaller operators can get under 47 00:02:19,160 --> 00:02:22,000 Speaker 2: into situations where they find their own able can afford 48 00:02:22,120 --> 00:02:25,760 Speaker 2: to maintain their vehicles. Some of them that can reach desperation. Again, 49 00:02:25,840 --> 00:02:27,600 Speaker 2: this is just a small minority that you think about 50 00:02:27,600 --> 00:02:30,560 Speaker 2: the recession we're in at the moment, you know, the 51 00:02:30,600 --> 00:02:32,880 Speaker 2: volumes have gone down by half. Some of these operators 52 00:02:32,880 --> 00:02:36,040 Speaker 2: are really struggling to survive on thin margins, so they 53 00:02:36,080 --> 00:02:38,840 Speaker 2: can get desperate and can take measures where they go, 54 00:02:38,919 --> 00:02:41,120 Speaker 2: I'll just skip on this maintenance. And that's what the 55 00:02:41,160 --> 00:02:44,560 Speaker 2: system needs to pick up. Also, really need customers of 56 00:02:44,680 --> 00:02:47,960 Speaker 2: transport operators to be more cognitivet of that, and that 57 00:02:48,000 --> 00:02:50,160 Speaker 2: there's too many customers out here who are quite happy 58 00:02:50,200 --> 00:02:52,359 Speaker 2: to take a cheap grade on the truck and let 59 00:02:52,360 --> 00:02:54,680 Speaker 2: the competition do the rest, but in fact what they're 60 00:02:54,720 --> 00:02:57,480 Speaker 2: actually doing is paying by what it takes to get 61 00:02:57,520 --> 00:02:58,080 Speaker 2: a truck safe. 62 00:02:58,160 --> 00:02:59,560 Speaker 1: It's a very good point. Wish you well with that. 63 00:02:59,680 --> 00:03:02,119 Speaker 1: Justin T. Gumbas who's the chief executive the National Road 64 00:03:02,120 --> 00:03:03,040 Speaker 1: Carriers Association. 65 00:03:03,680 --> 00:03:06,560 Speaker 2: For more from the Mic Asking Breakfast, listen live to 66 00:03:06,680 --> 00:03:09,760 Speaker 2: news Talks at B from six am weekdays, or follow 67 00:03:09,800 --> 00:03:11,359 Speaker 2: the podcast on iHeartRadio.