Trucking company fined after Northland fatal traffic crash

A New Zealand trucking business has been fined $50,000 and ordered to pay reparations of $145,000 after a nine-year-old girl died in a traffic crash in Northland.

The young girl died after the car she was travelling in collided with a trailer.

A WorkSafe investigation found that the crash was caused by a worn-down tow ball and coupling on a trailer used by the trucking company.

The safety regulator said that the company failed to conduct regular inspections on its vehicles and thus failed to identify the deterioration of the tow ball and coupling.

“The company had a duty to ensure the health and safety of other people was not adversely affected by its work. It should have been doing regular inspections of all its vehicles, including the trailer’s couplings and towballs to ensure they were safe and roadworthy,” says WorkSafe’s area manager, Danielle Henry.

The company had been charged under sections of the HSW Act 2015 and was recently fined at Whangārei District Court following the incident in October 2020.

Originally published on the WorkSafe New Zealand website.