Four years ago, something terrible happened in Mona Vale, a suburb in Sydney, Australia. A tanker truck carrying 40,000 liters of fuel slammed into traffic, killing a 73-year-old man and his 71-year-old passenger. Those who worked in the road safety industry at the time immediately called for sweeping changes to Australia’s trucking legislation, in hopes that the tragedy might spur regulators to action.
And that, they hoped, would make Australian roads safer for everyone. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen. Since the crash, fatal crashes involving transport trucks have only increased.
“State laws designed to hold suppliers and contractors accountable have failed, with new laws due to come into effect in the middle of next year,” writes Mario Christodoulou of The Sydney Morning Herald. “Those laws, not for the first time, attempt to target the suppliers that profit from trucking. Fatigue and speeding are still the official causes of trucking accidents, but speak to drivers and they’ll tell you the real killer is pressure – pressure from the boss, pressure to keep your clap shut about safety and pressure to keep moving.”
Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? The disregard of trucking companies for legislation designed to make the road safer seems to transcend borders. Granted, things are a bit worse there than they are here. Drug use is rampant, and trucking companies frequently employ drivers with a criminal history (due to privacy legislation in the country, companies cannot obtain a copy of a driver’s offenses without their consent).
At the same time, there are parallels – and we’d be remiss if we didn’t learn from them.
Long hours. Dangerous behavior. Trucking bosses that disregard the safety of their employees, the maintenance of their vehicles, and the safety of others on the road.
The one commonality is that even with better legislation – even with more laws, greater penalties, and more oversight – unscrupulous organizations will still find a way to cut corners and put everyone at risk. It’s up to us to hold them to task. To show them that even if they manage to get skirt regulators, there are still penalties for what they do.
That’s where Bormaster Law comes in. With a long history of taking corrupt trucking companies to task for their misdeeds, we make it our business to ensure that our injured clients see justice. And we don’t do it for the money; we do it to help.
That’s why we offer free consultations, and you don’t pay unless you win. Because we’re not interested in taking your money. We’re interested in helping you take back your life.
Contact us today to learn more.