Truckie fights $800 weighbridge fine after reporting her own mistake
Experienced truckie Kylie Robinson readily admits she should have entered the open weighbridge near Willow Tree on the New England Highway earlier this year.
But at the time, focused on other trucks coming and going from the southbound lanes – and the fact she wasn’t specifically called in, as is the case in Queensland – she simply “sailed on by”.
“As soon as I got to that exit gate, I thought, ‘Oh shit, I was supposed to go in there’,” Robinson told Big Rigs.
Robinson says what she did next makes the fine of more than $800 unfair and disproportionate.
Just minutes after realising her error, she pulled over the distinctive lilac T909 A-double she drives for R&K Bulk Haulage in nearby Willow Tree and tried to find a phone number for the weighbridge, also known as the Kankool Heavy Vehicle Safety Station.
Unable to locate one, she called the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) and reported that she had missed the entrance. According to Robinson, the person she spoke to suggested she return within 15 minutes and she wouldn’t be fined.
Robinson said she explained that she was driving an A-double and could not find a safe place to turn around and get back in that time. She asked for the station to be told what had happened and said she would enter when she returned after loading.
“I did everything in my power to rectify the situation,” she said.
On her return trip, Robinson drove into the station voluntarily. She said an officer recognised her distinctive truck called ‘Little Critter’, spoke to her about passing the entrance earlier and checked her work diary. She also showed him the record of her call to the NHVR.
Robinson said she was told a fine would still be issued, but that she could seek a review and explain the steps she had taken. Her initial request was unsuccessful.
Lawyer Belinda Hughes then wrote to the NHVR on her behalf, seeking a further review and asking it to withdraw the infringement or replace it with a warning.
Hughes’s submission accepted that Robinson had made a mistake, but argued that the surrounding traffic explained the lapse, her immediate call and voluntary return showed she had not tried to avoid inspection, and she could not safely and lawfully turn the A-double around in time to meet the 15-minute amnesty window.
The NHVR’s written response to Hughes, dated September 3, says it considered those circumstances but decided the infringement should stand.
The regulator expressly accepts there is no suggestion Robinson deliberately sought to avoid inspection and says her call and voluntary return count in her favour. However, it says those actions do not undo her failure to enter when required.
It says inspection stations allow officers to check vehicles for safety and compliance, and that the obligation to enter does not depend on whether a truck is loaded or a driver believes an inspection is necessary.
It also considered the difficulty Robinson reported in turning an A-double around. In the NHVR’s view, that may explain why she did not return immediately but does not change the fact that she had already passed the entrance.
Robinson’s driving history was another factor in its decision against a warning. The NHVR says it is not alleging a pattern of missed weighbridges. It says, however, that previous traffic matters are relevant when deciding whether further leniency is warranted, even if they are different from the present infringement.
An NHVR spokesperson also told Big Rigs that professional heavy vehicle drivers are expected to be familiar with safety stations along their routes, including the signage used to indicate when entry is required.
“A heavy vehicle travelling north towards the Kankool Safety Station passes four signs advising of the station’s presence, including three signs indicating when the station is open and operating,” the spokesperson said.
Failing to follow a direction to enter a safety station, including by passing a “Trucks Must Enter” sign or otherwise bypassing a lawful direction, is a serious offence under the HVNL.
The spokesperson added that the vast majority of heavy vehicle drivers comply with directions to enter when required.
“Where a driver raises concerns about an alleged failure to enter a safety Station, each matter is assessed on its individual circumstances.
“This may include the circumstances in which the vehicle passed the station and, where relevant, the number of hours taken for the driver to return and speak with officers.
“As the driver involved has elected to take this matter to court, the NHVR is unable to comment further at this time.”
Robinson told Big Rigs she has received speeding fines, including two while driving a truck, but said she has never previously missed a weighbridge. Hughes’s submission says she has no previous NHVR penalty for a work diary breach, overloading or failing to enter a weighbridge.
The NHVR described the infringement as an appropriate and proportionate response.
Hughes, who offered to represent Robinson for free, disagrees.
“Here is a hardworking driver who made a mistake but has taken every reasonable step to correct it,” Hughes said.
“The continued prosecution of this matter makes people ask the question – What’s the point in putting in the time and effort of calling the NHVR and returning back to a weighbridge if you are going to be fined anyway?”
Hughes said the case called for discretion. She welcomed the NHVR’s decision to reconsider it, while saying its refusal remained difficult to understand.
For Robinson, the issue is not whether the station’s direction applied to her.
The founder of the former Trucking Support Agency of Australia and a long-time collaborator with the NHVR on videos explaining work diaries and driving hours to other truckies accepts that it did.
She wants the effort she made to report the error and present her truck for inspection to carry more weight.
“I did the very best that I could to let them know what I’d done wrong,” she said.
Robinson and Hughes are now taking up the option to have the matter determined by a court.
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