The trucking company involved in a tanker explosion that killed two people in Sydney has copped a further fine for safety breaches in Victoria.
The $50,250 penalty comes on top of a $440,900 fine Cootes Transport Pty Ltd was ordered to pay in NSW last month for 255 charges arising from safety breaches.
With legal costs, the company will pay more than half a million dollars in NSW.
Cootes, which transports petrol and other fuels for global oil and gas companies, came under intense scrutiny after a tanker rolled on its side and burst into flames, killing two and injuring five, in Mona Vale last October.
The company's 201 Victorian vehicles were grounded for a safety inspection that uncovered 139 major and 38 minor defects.
Sixty-seven of the major defect notices rendered the vehicles unsafe for use on highways, according to VicRoads automotive technicians.
Cootes pleaded guilty to 67 road safety charges in the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Wednesday.
The company said in a statement it had improved the standard of its fleet.
A safety inspection of the fleet last week found no defects.
"All servicing and testing procedures have been upgraded and we continue to work closely with the VicRoads and independent certifiers to continue to ensure the integrity of our fleet," Cootes Transport said.
VicRoads chief operating officer Peter Todd said the road authority had worked closely with Cootes and the company had made significant improvements, but VicRoads would continue to monitor them.
He said most operators were doing the right thing.
"However we do continue to see a minority that give us no choice but to be really critical of them," Mr Todd said.
The penalty imposed against Cootes would send a powerful message that safety cannot be sacrificed, he said.
The Transport Workers' Union says it welcomes the penalty but more needs to be done to hold those "at the top" of transport supply chains to account, for issues that could lead to safety breaches.
National secretary Tony Sheldon said the union had submitted a draft order to the Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal addressing key issues facing operators and drivers in the oil, fuel and gas transport sector such as maintenance policies and procedures, rates of pay and training.
"When transport companies aren't paid enough to operate safely, maintenance is skipped and drivers are sweated," he said in a statement on Wednesday.
"This puts truck drivers and all Australia roads users at risk, costing 330 lives lost on our roads each year."
He said the RSRT was the only body with the power to hold major transport clients to account for dictating conditions that pushed transport operators to their limits.
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