By Ross Kelly
SYDNEY-- BP PLC said it will recall its entire Australian
trucking fleet, after three people were killed in a road accident
involving one of the company's fuel tankers.
On Thursday, a trailer attached to a BP fuel tanker became
dislodged while it was rounding a bend on a road near Wodonga, in
northern Victoria state. The wayward trailer crossed onto the wrong
side of the road and smashed into two oncoming cars, killing two
women and a 4-year-old boy.
The British oil company said it was deeply saddened by the
incident and would conduct its own internal investigation to
determine its cause, alongside a separate police probe. It has
recalled 42 trucks either owned or contracted by the company, which
is Australia's third-largest fuel marketer by volume behind Caltex
Australia Ltd. and Royal Dutch Shell PLC.
A spokeswoman for BP said Friday its recall won't have a
material impact on fuel supply in Australia. "While the precise
cause of this tragic incident may not be known for some time, it is
essential we do all that we can to understand how this occurred and
to ensure that it cannot happen again," BP said in a statement
posted on its website.
The tragedy comes less than a year after a fuel tanker owned by
Australia's McAleese Ltd. overturned in suburban Sydney, sparking
an intense blaze that killed two people and prompted a recall of
dozens of vehicles. The recall caused temporary fuel shortages on
Australia's eastern seaboard, including in Sydney and Melbourne. A
subsequent audit by authorities identified safety defects in some
of McAleese's trucks.
Regulation of trucking has become a contentious issue in
Australia, with some industry groups and big retailers such as
Wesfarmers Ltd. expressing concerns onerous rules could harm the
industry financially with little benefit to safety.
The country's conservative Liberal-National government is
considering whether to scrap the Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal,
a watchdog set up by the previous Labor administration to
investigate links between driver pay conditions and unsafe driving
practices. A government-commissioned review of the tribunal has
been handed to lawmakers, but has yet to be released to the
public.
A spokesman for Employment Minister Eric Abetz, who is steering
the review, wasn't immediately available for comment on Friday.
The Transport Workers' Union, which represents truck drivers,
said it would lodge a complaint with the tribunal in light of the
most recent accident.
"The causes are under investigation, but one thing is clear--the
community can't sit by while the death toll keeps rising," Michael
Kaine, the union's national secretary said in a statement.
Mr. Kaine said the union wants the tribunal to force operators
to lift safety standards. He said drivers are being put under
pressure from some operators to speed, skip breaks and ignore
safety defects.
Australia already has one of the world's most heavily-regulated
transport sector, according to the Australian Industry Group--a key
lobby group for the transport, manufacturing and construction
sectors. "The contention that tangible improvement in safety
outcomes can be achieved through a narrow focus on paying drivers
more or differently is flawed," it said in a document submitted to
lawmakers in January.
Write to Ross Kelly at ross.kelly@wsj.com
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