Importers and local manufacturers of unsafe trailers and caravans could face large fines under new safety standards that came into force last November.
The new rules apply to all imported and locally produced trailers up to 4.5 tonnes, including box, motorcycle, boat, plant and equipment trailers as well as horse floats, caravans and other recreational trailers. These products will now need to comply with a new national code of practice, with the importers and local manufacturers of non-compliant trailers facing fines of up to $66,000. Minister for Infrastructure, Transport Regional Development and Local Government Anthony Albanese said the new legislation would help prevent trailers being sold with couplings that were incompatible with Australian vehicles, unsafe drawbars and safety chains, non-standard LPG installations, inadequate lamps and reflectors or inadequate brakes and suspensions.
“People that unwittingly purchase trailers with such safety defects can face real difficulties registering them with state and territory transport authorities, potentially costing the owners thousands of dollars to make them compliant,” Mr Albanese said.
“We want Australians to feel confident that the trailers they buy are safe and roadworthy.”
More than 18,000 trailers are imported annually, with thousands more manufactured locally. Transitional arrangements will apply for a year so vehicles already purchased will not be affected.
I thought the relevant State and Federal authorities would have been doing this already through the various Dept of Transport, Standards Australia etc.If there is a cheaper way to get out of things then that is what business will generally try to do, so suggesting that they comply with the standards as before was pointless having no incentive to that business.The summary given above is certainly a big winner for road safety right around Australia.So great now the new trailers are good, what about the existing trailers? When are they expected to become compliant?