Supply chain responsibility for driver fatigue management

Parties in the chain of responsibility (in addition to the driver) include:

•  The employer of a driver;

• The prime contractor of a driver;

• The operator of a vehicle;

• The scheduler of goods or passengers for transport by the vehicle and also the scheduler of its driver;

• Both the consignor and consignee of the goods transported by the vehicle;

• The loading manager i.e. the person who supervises loading or unloading or manages premises where regular loading or unloading occurs: and

• The loader and unloader of the goods carried by the vehicle.

Under the new laws, everyone in the supply chain must take reasonable steps to prevent driver fatigue, and ensure a driver does not drive a heavy vehicle while impaired by fatigue an approach consistent with existing OH&S laws.
Employers and customers will be held accountable for dangerous work schedules and long truck queues, which are known to be major causes of fatigue. If poor business practices endanger the lives of other road users, there will be severe penalties for those responsible.
Penalties escalate sharply for offences which pose a serious road safety risk, including court-imposed fines of up to $50,000 and demerit points.
Pointing the finger at someone else who has broken the law does not automatically mean you are no longer responsible. In some circumstances, you may also have multiple duties under the chain of responsibility and are therefore also liable.
To comply with the law, you should ensure that you can demonstrate reasonable steps are taken to prevent a breach from occurring in your workplace or as a result of your activities. There are no limits to the ways in which you can do this. What constitutes reasonable steps will vary according to each individuals circumstances. You may need to change the way you do business on a daily basis.
Taking reasonable steps could include developing an industry code of practice, use of accreditation schemes, reviewing your business practices, changing your commercial arrangements and adopting a risk management approach.
If you exercise control or influence over the transport task in your workplace, you can be held legally liable for your actions, inactions or demands, if they have caused or contributed to a road safety breach. The law requires you to take reasonable steps to prevent your conduct from causing or contributing to a breach. In addition, the law also prohibits you from:

•  Making demands that you know or ought to know would cause a breach;
  

• Entering into contracts that you know or ought to know would cause, encourage or give an incentive for a breach;

• Coercing, inducing or encouraging breaches; and

• Passing on false or misleading information that could cause a breach.

Further information is available from the National Transport Commission website.
Comment: Businesses which outsource functions are increasingly becoming accountable for contractor conduct and performance and need to implement effective risk management processes relative to decision-making on outsourcing or sub-contracting, selection of the service supplier and ongoing management of the suppliers conduct and performance. Exposures now exist in workplace relations/independent contractor legislation and OH&S and equal opportunity jurisdictions.