Cootes Transport - the Victorian trucking company whose vehicles have been repeatedly hauled off the road because of major safety defects - continues to be allowed to roster drivers on to longer shifts and load trucks with more weight than others in the industry.
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Cootes, whose tanker ran out of control in Sydney's Mona Vale in October killing two people, retains a number of the advantages of signing up to a national safety accreditation scheme. These advantages include being allowed to roster drivers for 14-hour shifts rather than the general industry limit of 12 hours, and a more generous mass allowance for its trucks.
Since the October crash, Cootes, the largest fuel distributor in the country, has been pilloried by state authorities for its lax maintenance regime.
Cootes' parent company, McAleese, on Monday morning will present to the sharemarket an update on the financial implications of its chequered safety record.
On Friday, VicRoads officers found major defects in 25 Cootes petrol and diesel vehicles at the Spotswood depot forcing the company to ground its fleet for inspections. On Sunday, VicRoads inspected 23 LPG vehicles at Cootes' Dandenong site and six vehicles were grounded. Defects discovered included loose bolts and fixtures, oil leaks and cracks in mounts.
VicRoads' acting chief executive, Peter Todd, said the authority had a ''serious discussion'' with Cootes, which voluntarily decided to ground its 200-vehicle Victorian fleet.
Last week NSW Roads Minister Duncan Gay ordered all Cootes petrol and gas tankers that run through NSW to undergo a full compliance inspection. The order followed the inspection of 35 Cootes vehicles at Wetherill Park and Port Botany, which found 17 vehicles with major defects.
Nevertheless, the chief executive of the national trucking regulator has confirmed Cootes still holds accreditation to operate with mass and fatigue management levels beyond the general industry standard under the National Heavy Vehicle Accreditation Scheme.
After the October crash, Cootes opted out of this scheme for the purposes of maintenance, meaning it had to undergo more stringent maintenance inspections. But Cootes' vehicles ''will be eligible to carry extra weight'' and could allow selected drivers to work for 14 hours, said the chief of the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator, Richard Hancock, provided the company meets ''prescribed management standards'' and had extra audits.
Mr Hancock said that ''no adverse information'' had been provided about the way Cootes meets its mass and fatigue management obligations.
