Thread: Can the seller be also liable - Duty of Care?

Even with a flag

The muppet that Homestar mentioned at Bunnings, told him that 2' sticking out the back was illegal. How could they even suppose to give advice to customers if they don't know the regulations that apply? Unless the company has provided training and/or reference material, their advice is nothing more than that - unqualified advice.

Originally Posted by donh54

The muppet that Homestar mentioned at Bunnings, told him that 2' sticking out the back was illegal. How could they even suppose to give advice to customers if they don't know the regulations that apply? Unless the company has provided training and/or reference material, their advice is nothing more than that - unqualified advice.

qualified or not, if something was said or suggested I would sus it out myself and make my own decision based on my knowledge.

Not Bunnings specific but when I notice somebody giving the wrong advice than I do take time and offer to point them in the right direction or suggest researching or give them the correct info......referring to them as muppets doesn't really help the world out, is something I don't do and I look at it as an opportunity to assist.

Originally Posted by donh54

Clearly visible loads that project up to 1.2m from the back of your vehicle or trailer do not need a warning device. Any load that projects more than 1.2m from the back of your vehicle or trailer must display a warning device.

Source. Projecting loads (Department of Transport and Main Roads)

This is old. 2007. I think the law has been changed since.

https://www.google.com/url?q=https:/...Gl0q3_P9wNvN0z

Originally Posted by Grumbles

How can they stop you...... They are not police nor do they have police powers. They cannot legally detain you, confiscate your car/car keys, impound your car or confiscate your newly purchased goods which are now private, legally owned goods.

Yes, they can stop you leaving their property with an illegal load. We do that quite a lot at work ourselves. There is no way we would let an illegal load leave the yard, because we would be as liable as the driver if there was an accident.

Originally Posted by donh54

The muppet that Homestar mentioned at Bunnings, told him that 2' sticking out the back was illegal. How could they even suppose to give advice to customers if they don't know the regulations that apply? Unless the company has provided training and/or reference material, their advice is nothing more than that - unqualified advice.

Aside from his new found membership to the Jim Henderson team the Bunnings employee was in this case legally correct.

2’ Beyond the dropped tailgate of a current Hilux exceeds the current regulations in respect to that vehicle.

(I’m in now way an angel when it comes to doing this, just pointing out the statement was correct for the circumstances)

Originally Posted by Homestar

As mentioned, yes they would be liable.

I picked up some 2.4 meter sleepers in the Hilux the other week - they stuck out the back about 2' - the guy at Bunnings just said 'That's technically illegal as nothing is supposed to hang out beyond the lowered tailgate'. I thanked him for the heads up and drove off.

I think that's all they do, but some day, someone will have a serious accident and they will be I a world of poo - and will then start making sure all loads are legal.

One of the problems is that you drive in, load up, pay at the desk and then the first time someone sees how you've loaded is when it's all paid for, tied down and you're heading out the door.

Also, they won't want to be seen as the bad guys as that may effect revenue.

Originally Posted by Tombie

Aside from his new found membership to the Jim Henderson team the Bunnings employee was in this case legally correct.

2’ Beyond the dropped tailgate of a current Hilux exceeds the current regulations in respect to that vehicle.

(I’m in now way an angel when it comes to doing this, just pointing out the statement was correct for the circumstances)

Ah, but is it a single cab, or dual cab Hilux? What year? (there were some wheelbase changes over the years). Trayback or wellside? And how far is the tailgate sticking out from the back of the tray when lowered?

The two most common wheelbases seem to be 2750mm or 3085mm. That would mean an allowable overhang from the rear axle of either 1650mm or 1851mm (using VicRoads method of 60% of wheelbase being permissible).

Unless the fellow ran a tape measure over the ute, he's simply guessing. To make a statement of illegality based merely on a guess means, in my book anyway, the fellow qualifies as a muppet. (Notice the non-capitalised spelling, so as not to upset our good friend Disco Muppet)

Originally Posted by Homestar

Yes, they can stop you leaving their property with an illegal load. We do that quite a lot at work ourselves. There is no way we would let an illegal load leave the yard, because we would be as liable as the driver if there was an accident.

The Chain of Responsibility law has changed attitudes of consignors, hasn't it. I drove and owned line haul trucks on and off from about 1960 to 1985. I had four White Road Boss in the early 80's on line haul shuttle for a major freight forwarder pulling company trailers. They always loaded legal but there were plenty of consignors who would tell you they had two tonne over and could you put it on. My answer was always that I would put on 12 tonne over but not 2. Two tonnes would not pay the fine if caught so put on enough to pay the fine. A good friend on several occasions that I witnessed would pull out of a certain meatworks with a full floor load of packaged pork plus another of hanging carcasses on the rails. I came across another old mate at Cobar one night with a load of tyres that were barely gate high. I commented that there was not much profit in that load. He grinned and said that there 20 tonnes of batteries on the floor under the tyres. This was common practice all the time I was on line haul. Should have stopped now. I hope so. We did it because the rates were so poor on many routes and we needed the money.