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Almost one in 10 heavy vehicles intercepted during a recent national enforcement operation were found either speeding or fitted with illegally modified speed limiters, including one vehicle altered to allow speeds of up to 250km/h.
The National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) is warning drivers, operators and all parties in the supply chain that tampering with a heavy vehicle's speed limiter is illegal, dangerous and will not be tolerated.
Operation Quicksilver brought together the NHVR and state police agencies in a coordinated national crackdown on speeding and speed limiter tampering.
NHVR Chief Operations Officer Paul Salvati acknowledged that while the heavy vehicle industry was doing it tough at the moment, there was no excuse to put people’s lives at risk.
“Any large, heavy vehicle travelling even a few kilometres above the speed limit can mean the difference between life or death,” Mr Salvati said.
“Speeding is the number one factor in the Fatal Five and has far too big of an impact on Australia’s road toll.
“Tampering with a heavy vehicle’s speed limiter to increase speed capacity is not only illegal but poses a major safety risk to the driver and all road users.
“If a driver feels under pressure by their employer to exceed speed limits, there are other options like confidential reporting that must be used rather than resorting to an unlawful tactic.”
As part of the operation, officers from the NHVR performed more than 2000 intercepts, resulting with a national non-compliance rate for speeding and speed tampering of 9.6%.
Mr Salvati said in a particularly concerning case, one heavy vehicle had been found with its speed limiter modified to allow speeds of up to 250km/h.
“Where people’s lives are being risked, NHVR officers won’t hesitate to take action like grounding fleet or prosecuting drivers or operators,” he said.
“This is an issue we take very seriously, and it’s important all of industry does so as well.
“Anyone who might be concerned a vehicle has been tampered with, including drivers, operators, mechanics, manufacturers or members of the supply chain, should speak up.”
Operation Quicksilver marked the first time the NHVR has run a national, coordinated speed and speed limiter tampering with policing agencies in New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania and Victoria taking part.
In Victoria, there were two bus intercepts – one which exceeded the speed limit by 25km/h and another by 15km/hr. A further two heavy vehicles were caught speeding in work zones, travelling 30km/h and 10km/h over the speed limit.
Victoria Police Heavy Vehicle Unit and Crime Investigation Unit Detective Senior Sergeant Ben Morris said they work closely with partner agencies like the NHVR to help reduce trauma on their roads.
“Speed remains the number one cause of trauma on our roads and slowing down could be the difference between arriving alive or not arriving at all,” Det Sen Sgt Morris said.
“Police target not only dangerous drivers who excessively speed, but also those who think it’s acceptable to travel a little bit over the speed limit.
“Heavy vehicle industry operators have a responsibility under the Chain of Responsibility laws to provide drivers with a safe working environment and free from undue pressures that could lead to poor decision making.
“Operators may be held accountable if they fail to meet these obligations.”
Speeds just over 5km/h above the speed limit in urban areas and 10km/h above the speed limit in rural areas may double the risk of a crash, with the same increase in risk associated with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.05.
Under the Heavy Vehicle National Law, it is an offence for a person to tamper with a speed limiter.
In 2025, there were 191 fatal heavy vehicle crashes in Australia, with approximately 61% of these crashes occurring in speed zones of 100km/hour or above.
Any members of industry concerned about a vehicle that may have been tampered with are encouraged to contact the NHVR’s Heavy Vehicle Confidential Reporting Line on 1800 931 785.