A joint campaign conducted by Australian and New Zealand police, road, transport, and safety agencies to apprehend erring drivers in the heavy vehicle industry has netted hundreds of truck drivers — many of them found to be impaired or were tested positive for drug driving.
According to an article first published on OHSAlert, the blitz, known as Operation Austrians, intercepted 151 drivers who are under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Aside from drug driving, Operation Austrians, which was conducted in four weeks, also focused on safety issues such as fatigue, overspeeding, cell phone use, and other distractions while driving.
This campaign is absolutely laudable, especially when driving under the influence is slowly becoming an epidemic in the country, particularly in the heavy vehicle industry. There have been far too many deaths and serious injuries that involve heavy vehicles, and hopefully, government campaigns like this as well as more intensified drug testing efforts on the part of employers can help curb such incidents in the future.
