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

Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires