State Department of Transport calls for inspection of entire Wicked Campers Queensland fleet

The Queensland Department of Transport has asked Wicked Campers to present its entire Queensland fleet for inspection, a spokeswoman for the Minister of Transport Rachel Nolan has said.  

The request, sent in a letter to Wicked yesterday, will require all its Queensland-registered vehicles to be presented to state transport inspectors. “If Wicked has more vehicles in Queensland then they need to front up and have their safety inspected as soon as possible,” the spokeswoman said.

The news follows a tumultuous few days for the company after acting Queensland Premier Paul Lucas said Wicked had voluntarily decommissioned 77 of its 86 vehicles when asked to submit their fleet for safety tests. Of the remaining nine vehicles tested, only four were deemed roadworthy. “What this means is that out of a fleet of 86 vehicles only four were safe to be on our roads,” he added.

Wicked Campers owner John Webb hit back at the claims and said only around 50 of the company’s Queensland-registered vehicles had been withdrawn, with 611 remaining in service.

A spokesman for the campervan company told Thumbrella today the inspections would be “very discriminatory towards Wicked”. He added: “The main message we want to get out is it’s business as usual and safety is and always has been our number one priority.”

By Alice Terlikowski  ·  January 12th, 2010 at 12:21 pm

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Comments


  1. chris ferris
    12 Jan 10
    2:25 pm

    2. what gets me is when there is a drought, farmers get all the help in the world to sustain them through the tough times. in backpacker tourism, when there is a drought – you go broke. at every chance, the authorities find way to license you to tax you for everything you do, and rarely offer you any meaningful assistance. it forces operators underground, and that undermines those that try and do it right and abide by laws. the authorities pursue the licensed and legal members and turn a blind eye to the underground activities as that is all too hard and too expensive to police.

  2. davide
    13 Jan 10
    12:10 am

    3. I worked for Wicked Campers. It is totally fare that the govermnent is concerned about people driving these vans around the country.

    This comment has been edited for legal reasons.

  3. Greg Cole
    13 Jan 10
    8:45 am

    4. Chris, go and knock on a few farmers doors in outback NSW and see how much cash the govt has handed them recently. I think you’ll come away dissapointed or with a fencepost in your mouth.

    Campervan companies are not required to be specially licensed or accredited or subject to anything more onerous than the average car owner. So to suggest that they are is nonsense. The QLD govt has every right to force a company to undergo quality or safety inspections as they grant the right to use the roads. If everything is ok then WIcked has nothing to worry about.

    Govts are not overly unfair to small business. If you want to use this country’s sights and sounds and roads and airports and reefs and rocks as the basis of your business then you should be expected to pay for its upkeep. That’s why fees and licenses exist and as we grow then it follows that this becomes more expensive.

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