What Happened
A fatal incident involving a 20-tonne truck in defective condition led to the vehicle’s operator being convicted of manslaughter. The truck’s condition was known beforehand. The operator had a documented track record of safety violations. And crucially, no effective regulatory mechanism existed to prevent the operator from continuing to work with substandard equipment. The accountability mechanism activated only after a fatality had occurred — which is precisely the accountability structure that should not exist in a sector where vehicle failures kill people.
New Zealand Trucking Association CEO David Boyce drew the implication directly: “If you are contracting trucks into your business, it’s no longer enough to take someone’s word that they’re compliant.”
The Due Diligence Requirement
For construction businesses that contract transport operators to move materials, equipment, or waste, the fatal crash creates a specific obligation: verifying the safety and compliance status of the operators you engage is no longer optional practice, it is a health and safety duty. The Health and Safety at Work Act imposes obligations on PCBUs (Persons Conducting a Business or Undertaking) to manage risks created by the activities of contractors and suppliers, including transport operators.
Practical due diligence steps when engaging transport contractors include:
- Reviewing maintenance logs and service records for the specific vehicles to be used
- Confirming driver licensing and health certifications are current
- Verifying daily pre-start inspection procedures are actually being conducted
- Requesting audit reports if the operator participates in a safety programme
- Selecting providers with documented safety protocols over those competing solely on price
TruckSafe: The Industry Standard
The NZ Trucking Association’s TruckSafe programme is an independently audited safety system covering the full range of fleet operations: fatigue management, vehicle maintenance standards, driver training, and health and safety culture. TruckSafe accreditation requires demonstrating compliance with documented standards — it is not self-assessed and it is not a once-only certification. Accredited operators are subject to ongoing audit that maintains the standard over time.
For construction businesses contracting transport, TruckSafe accreditation provides an independent verification of the operator’s safety standards that relieves some of the due diligence burden from the contracting business. It is not a guarantee — no certification eliminates all risk — but it is evidence that the operator has been assessed against a recognised standard by a party with no financial interest in the outcome.
