BP fleet off road until cleared

Inspections on BP's Australian tanker fleet will continue after its 50 trucks were recalled following a triple fatality in Victoria.

A BP petrol station is seen in Canberra

BP has taken its entire tanker fleet of 42 trucks off Australian roads after a triple fatality. (AAP)

BP's Australian tanker fleet will remain off the road until all trucks have been cleared, after a head-on crash killed three people when a trailer came loose.

A four-year-old boy, his mother and another woman died when the trailer of a BP petrol tanker became detached while rounding a bend on a country Victorian road, crashing head-on into and crushing two cars.

BP recalled its trucking fleet - all 30 vehicles in Victoria and another 20 around the rest of Australia - so the tankers could be inspected and cleared by transport regulators.

Two major defect notices and five minor ones had been issued to the company by Friday afternoon, after nine trucks and seven trailers were checked.

VicRoads director of regulatory services Richard Bell said the faults, including for oil leaks, tyres and shock absorbers, were common "wear and tear" issues for heavy trucks.

"It's certainly not a concern and we have given them a few days to complete the repairs," he said.

More vehicles will be examined over the weekend, VicRoads said.

A 33-year-old Allans Flat woman and her four-year-old son died on Thursday morning when their car was crushed under the trailer, along with a 67-year-old Yackandandah woman in the other car, which was also crushed.

It took until early Friday morning to lift the trailer off the family's crushed car.

Detective Inspector Bernie Rankin said it was impossible for the drivers to take any evasive action.

"These people had absolutely no chance at all," he said.

Police will examine the truck and dog-trailer to determine what caused the crash.

Witnesses said the truck was travelling normally before the trailer came off near Wodonga.

BP Australia president Andy Holmes said the entire fleet was taken off the road as a precautionary measure.

"We are taking full precautions and we are making sure that we're co-operating fully with the authorities to ensure proper inspections are carried out so we can understand more about what's happened," he told reporters in Melbourne on Friday.

The truck involved in the crash was last serviced on August 1 and is the only one of its type in BP's Victorian fleet, however Mr Holmes said there are other types of those trucks and dog-trailers around the country.

There have been no incidents of this type with the vehicles before, he said.

Mr Holmes said there should be no effect on fuel supplies, as the company also uses third-party logistics providers and there are a number of petrol tankers in the industry.

The Transport Workers Union says it wrote twice to BP this year warning of fatal consequences from "critical safety issues" in the company's tanker fleet.


Share

3 min read

Published

Updated


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world