Vol. 28 No. 49
A FREE PUBLICATION FROM YOUR LOCAL RADIO STATIONS 3WM AND MIXXFM
Wednesday, June 17, 2026
ICE COLD: Horsham West and Haven Primary School Haven Campus captains Evie Webster, left, and Hughie Cameron pour iced water over principal Craig Amos at Friday’s MND Day. The two campuses raised more than $2000 for Motor Neurone Disease in the lead-up to the ice bucket challenge, raising their target to be able to dunk all nominated staff and students. Story, page 11. Picture: PAUL CARRACHER.
Breaches skyrocket
40th
BY BRONWYN HASTINGS
H
eavy vehicles’ ‘skyrocketing’ non-compliance on western Victorian roads was among issues raised at the Victorian Transport Association regional forum at Horsham last week.
OFFICIAL PROGRAM INSIDE 16-PAGE LIFT-OUT
National Heavy Vehicle Regulator, Victoria Police, Transport Accident Commission, WorkSafe Victoria, and WHG Telematics representatives presented on road-safety issues and strategies, as well as regulatory and safety updates at the forum at Horsham Golf Club on Wednesday. Compliance agency NHVR’s stakeholder engagement officer and presenter Gerald Horkin, an on-road officer
for four years, presented data on the western region, which has the highest rate of non-compliance among the regulator’s five regions in Victoria. He said in the past three years, NHVR officers intercepted about 6500 heavy vehicles and issued notices for warning, defects or infringements to about 3000 drivers. “I’d pull up the trucks, and I worked in this region a lot – we were at Nhill and a truck rolled in with an iPad on his windscreen,” he said. “He’s effectively driving blind. I stood in front of the truck and asked if he could see my face, and he kept turning his head around the iPad, because he couldn’t see. That’s the stuff we see, unfortunately – and we share the road
with people like this.” Mr Horkin said officers in Victoria have the same powers as police for enforcing road rules, speeding, seatbelts, using portable devices and permits. “The non-compliance rate is highest in western region, at 45 per cent, compared with eastern and northern regions, and that’s not including roadside education,” he said. “There are times where the NHVR has the option under the law to give a warning or even just choose to give an education. “The non-compliance rate has skyrocketed – in the 2023-24 financial year, we were sitting at 38 per cent non-compliance. “This year is not finished yet, and
we are sitting just shy of 60 per cent.” Mr Horkin said the past three years’ data showed fatigue, road rule breaches and permit breaches were now the top three infringements; loading was previously the third-highest issue. He said fatigue-related offences had increased by 30 per cent between July 2024 and April 2025, and July 2025 and April 2026. “Fatigue offences include work diary breaches, work and rest breaches, false and misleading entries, failure to carry a work diary, and administrative breaches,” he said. “Road rule offences have increased 142 per cent – that’s mobile phone, road safety stuff, which is a worrying trend.” Continued page 5
IN THIS ISSUE • St Arnaud rail push • Wimmera joins rally • Police investigate Mininera league match Phone: 03 5382 1351 Read it online: www.theweeklyadvertiser.com.au
21,505 COPIES DISTRIBUTED EACH WEEK (average)
d JUNE n 2 2 8 1 -80% ed
50 cash preferr OFF RRP byo bags
Next door in the former Jeanwest store
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KMART BEST AND LESS SPOTLIGHT REJECT SHOP WIDE RANGE OF SPECIALTY STORES WWW.HORSHAMPLAZA.COM.AU