SOUTH West residents have been urged to read up on new road transport rules that will come into effect this month in order to avoid a hefty fine.
South West MLC Adele Farina said the new chain of responsibility legislation, effective from April 27, places an unprecedented legal burden on members of the public involved in any stage of the transport of goods.
“Anyone involved at any stage of the transportation of goods, including the purchaser, the loader, the driver and the receiver now all share responsibility for the safe transport of goods and may face heavy penalties for failing to correctly secure the goods during transport,” Ms Farina said.
“Goods transported by road from a hardware store or a garden centre would be covered by the new legislation.
“If you help your neighbour load their furniture onto a trailer to move house and it is not properly secured you may be deemed responsible for the load not being properly secured.”
If there was an accident involving goods being transported, everyone in the chain of responsibility may be called upon to prove they were not liable in anyway and if found responsible may be fined up to $1,000.
Ms Farina is concerned the new legislation has not been publicised widely enough and people may get caught out and face hefty fines.
For more information about the chain of responsibility regulations, visit mainroads.wa.gov.au
