Transpacific has been fined $363,000 after one of its garbage trucks crashed into a car in Perth's Swan Valley, killing a 71-year-old woman.
Mary Louise Ross died in February 2011 on West Swan Road in Caversham, after the 12-tonne Cleanaway truck hit her vehicle head-on.
The garbage truck driver had abruptly braked after the car in front of him suddenly veered onto the gravel verge to avoid a van that was stationary at a junction.
The four rear wheels of the truck locked up and it skidded, striking the van, then continued to slide into the oncoming traffic.
By the time the truck hit Mrs Ross' car, it had skidded 60 metres.
It was later established that the truck's front brakes were not properly adjusted, despite having been serviced seven days before the crash.
If they had been properly adjusted, the truck would have stopped 13.6m short of Mrs Ross' car, federal government occupational health and safety authority Comcare calculated.
"There was a systematic servicing problem ... as there were three separate mechanics on three separate occasions who failed to identify any faults," Federal Court of Australia Justice Michael Barker said on Friday.
"There was a less than adequate supervision system in place.
"While it is not necessary for each mechanic to be constantly supervised, the circumstances of this case suggest the system of supervision was inadequate."
The judge noted that while Transpacific had expressed remorse and made changes to its servicing system, it tried to reduce its responsibility for its contraventions by blaming the truck driver for failing to take actions that may, it argued, have prevented the fatal incident.
Share
