Unlicensed driver in defective truck in SA

A 23-year-old unlicensed truckie in a tanker with failing brakes has been stopped by police on a freeway in Adelaide.

Police saw the B-double tanker truck driving along a freeway in Glen Osmond with smoke coming from the back wheels on Wednesday afternoon.

Specialist police inspected the truck and found it had a major defect of its brakes and police are now investigating the trucking company.

The driver has been reported for driving unlicensed, aggravated due care and failing to use low gears and will be summonsed to an Adelaide court at a later date.

Police say the incident could easily have had "disastrous consequences".

"Police are concerned that while most heavy vehicle operators are doing the right thing, a number of operators aren't," Brevet Sergeant James Mansfield said in a statement.