Mad Truck Driver

[d2dave]

Saw this on the news last night. As far as I am concerned this driver should lose his license to drive trucks for life.

Maybe a bit of jail time thrown in. It was lucky that the oncoming car driver kept his cool.
Some drivers would have pooed them selves and ended up in the bush.

It appears that there was an overtaking lane just ahead as well.

No Cookies | The Advertiser (http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/law-order/dashcam-footage-of-terrifying-nearmiss-outside-port-augusta-as-truck-driver-overtakes-another-truckie/news-story/b4263755a35210cfb63d9c3b48da530c)

[Vern]

Makes me want to get a dash cam.
What an idiot

[Roverlord off road spares]

It happened to me the other week, a bozo trying to over take 4 cars in front of him and over double lines but it was another car approaching, you really start to hate driving on single lane roads.


Many years ago I was traveling along the Princes Hwy between Rosedale and Sale, on that single lane bit, there were cars in front of me and cars behind me , we were all traveling at 100kph with a safe distance between us. You could see the road a head clearly and approaching cars. Out of the corner of my right eye I could see an old under powered hatch back trying to pass me and all the other cars in my line, I turned and thought what and idiot, there are approaching cars. The driver was staring straight ahead as if in a trance, he had a passenger asleep in the front passenger seat. I kept looking and the oncoming traffic was now so close that a head one collision was imminent any second and this bloke was still in overtaking mode. All of a sudden the passenger woke up and went hysterical and needed an undie change ( he didn't want to die it seems!) To avoid a head on happening I had to brake real hard to allow the driver to pull in font of me and avoid the head on, all this happened in a time frame of only seconds. I was one of those situations that the car approaching was sticking his ground and not slowing down , no flashing lights or pulling over to avoid collision, there was no room for the idiot overtaking to safely overtake if a head on was to occur I also would have been involved due to the impact of vehicles next to me and behind me. It was quite scarey.

[d2dave]

Makes me want to get a dash cam.


Something that is on my list. Just haven't got around to it.

One of these would have saved my son a while ago. He was turning right, the light went red so he turned.
Moron ran the red light and took him out. He claimed the light was green and that my son turned in front of him.

No witnesses so his word against my son

[d2dave]

Not sure if this has been posted but here is another near catastrophe involving a school bus on Sydney's M5.

This was last Thursday.

Truck driver avoids 'catastrophic' crash with bus carrying school children on Sydney's M5 - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) (http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-06-02/school-bus-merge-causes-truck-crash-highway-chaos/8583746)

[trout1105]

Just over 2 years ago I was involved in a high speed head on collision because a Chinese tourist decided that driving I on the wrong side of the road was a good idea and the driver of the vehicle that I was travelling in didn't react fast enough and go bush.
It resulted in one of my workmates being killed on the spot and I myself ended up in hospital for 18 days, I didn't loose my arm But it is now pretty much useless.
We all see near misses But when it all goes pear shaped somebody usually dies because the impact of two vehicles colliding at 100 kph or more is mind blowing.
Many people roll the dice and do stupid things like this and get away with it, what they tend to forget is that they are also rolling the dice for the other people on the road.

[cjc_td5]

Dashcams are cheap nowdays.
A relo of mine had a vehicle oncoming at him on his side of the road. He had nowhere to go and had to swerve right. The oncoming vehicle swerved left at the last instant and they collided head-on in the other lane. She died. There were no other witnesses, the court didn't believe his story and he did jail time. A camera would have avoided him having his life wrecked by a jail record.
C

[PhilipA]

IMHO the truck driver probably started to overtake when the road was clear , long before the car came the other way.
The other truck driver may have been bloody minded in not slowing to let him in. They were probably both limited.
He had no options to pull back in due to his position and you could see that he was squeezing onto the other truck.
Seeing that there was ample run off room, good visibility on a straight road, the oncoming driver would have to be a moron not to move off to the side.

I have had exactly this situation several times in my driving career, and just pulled off out of the way although once I had a panicking passenger not SWMBO who is used to such things after being a passenger in 34 countries.

Just one of those things that you will encounter in any country driving. I can recall once overtaking on the left then the right verges while overtaking trucks passing each other at about 10Kmh on the Silesian Gates.
The other clip of the car veering over double lines on a curve is a different kettle of fish, but again the dash cam car driver must have been very poor to spin and roll under those circumstances. Maybe his ESC and ABS could not cope.

Regards Philip A

[Vern]

Yes phillip but he was 20m from hitting double lines and less than 100m from an overtaking lane! He also could have hit the brakes amd pulled back in behind the truck, he would have seen the car coming from a fair distance

[Graeme]

The driver of the truck being overtaken was remiss in not moving as far left as he could whilst staying on the tar when the idiot overtaking him was obviously not backing off, so both truck drivers were idiots.

[trout1105]

IMHO the truck driver probably started to overtake when the road was clear , long before the car came the other way.

That really is No excuse, Most truckies are fully aware of how their trucks preform and know exactly how much road they will need to overtake another truck they also regularly travel the same route and will have a good knowledge of the road they are using.
I drove trucks (Only small rigid But the same rules apply) for years and it is frustrating when you are governed and want to overtake But there is No excuse for this sort of behaviour.
Yes the Driver IS a Moron, End of story.

[onebob]

That school bus near miss is the bus drivers fault due either to the bus drivers inattention or arrogance or both! too many times i've had to take evasive action when an arrogant bus driver flicks on his indicator and simultaneously moves out into the traffic stream - they dont see the D2 beside beside them amidship cos they dont look [emoji35] seems like they think that the "give way" sign on the rear of the bus releases them from the rules all others road users are bound by .... [rant over]

[Eevo]

Garden Grove are well known for their stupid drivers.

[Captain_Rightfoot]

There is a youtube channel called "dashcam" motorists or something. They put out collations each month... some of that stuff is truly horrifying.

I don't have one in the car as I don't drive much - but if I did drive a lot I'd definitely have one.. maybe even a rear too. [bighmmm]

[d2dave]

IMHO the truck driver probably started to overtake when the road was clear , long before the car came the other way.
The other truck driver may have been bloody minded in not slowing to let him in. They were probably both limited.
He had no options to pull back in due to his position and you could see that he was squeezing onto the other truck.
Seeing that there was ample run off room, good visibility on a straight road, the oncoming driver would have to be a moron not to move off to the side.

I have had exactly this situation several times in my driving career, and just pulled off out of the way although once I had a panicking passenger not SWMBO who is used to such things after being a passenger in 34 countries.

Just one of those things that you will encounter in any country driving. I can recall once overtaking on the left then the right verges while overtaking trucks passing each other at about 10Kmh on the Silesian Gates.
The other clip of the car veering over double lines on a curve is a different kettle of fish, but again the dash cam car driver must have been very poor to spin and roll under those circumstances. Maybe his ESC and ABS could not cope.

Regards Philip A

Sorry Phil but I totally disagree. I have been doing interstate for the past 12 months and this is how it should be done.

1/ Make radio contact with the truck I wish to over take. I will then ask the driver to let me know when it is safe to come around.
In most cases when they give the ok they will also say that if an oncoming car does appear before the job is done, that he will back off to let me in.
I do the same if I have a slightly faster one on my back door.

2/ If for some reason contact cannot be made with the front truck,
I will then only attempt to pass the truck when there is ample room to either get past, or if necessary abort, long before an oncoming vehicle gets close.

What we saw in that video is totally absolutely unacceptable behavior from any driver, let alone 40 plus tons of truck.

I still say he should be banned for life from driving anything bigger than a light rigid.

[V8Ian]

I think you're being a bit harsh Dave. The short capture does look bad, but what would the whole story tell?
There are many scenarios that could put the overtaking truck in that position, most involving misjudgment by the truck and dog steersman.
Did the road train just pull out from the shoulder, giving the T&D no time to stop?
Did the R/T call him 'round, not seeing the oncoming?
Has the oncoming just pulled out of a driveway or side street?
Was the oncoming travelling up the shoulder, appearing to be parked?
In my humble opinion, the most likely chain of events goes like this:
The loaded R/T is trundling along at 90-95 kph.
The empty T&D is marching at 100 kph, approaching the slower truck, just before a hill with an overtaking lane.
Expecting to catch the R/T at the beginning of the overtaking lane but misjudging the slower trucks speed, the quicker truck has left himself nowhere to go.

I saw this discussed, this morning, on TV. The women on the panel said that they would have gone bush or skidded to a stop! They don't deserve to have a licence, they also claimed it was an incredible show of skill by the dashcam owner! For heaven's sake, all he did was what he should have done, in the circumstances. That demonstrates that they have no more idea than the armchair critics who have posted here.

What happened to innocent until proven guilty? That brief clip is not long enough to tell the whole story.

[Eevo]

What happened to innocent until proven guilty? That brief clip is not long enough to tell the whole story.
thats why the business owner and possibly the police are investigating.

[trout1105]

What happened to innocent until proven guilty? That brief clip is not long enough to tell the whole story.

That brief clip pretty much tells the whole story.
The driver with the dash cam was travelling along the road and had to pull off the road because the offending truck driver was on the wrong side of the road.
I would Love to see this idiot plead Not guilty with this sort of evidence presented in court.
I have No idea why you are trying to defend the actions of this driver
Watch the footage again, There is NO driveway or side street anywhere to be seen and both trucks are travelling at speed so the parked up theory doesn't work.
You do mention "Misjudgement" a couple of times though.
This driver did something stupid and dangerous and should be taken through the courts and dealt with accordingly.

[Vern]

That brief clip pretty much tells the whole story.
The driver with the dash cam was travelling along the road and had to pull off the road because the offending truck driver was on the wrong side of the road.

And thats pretty much it!

[V8Ian]

I'm not defending anyone, I'm saying that clip is not enough to tell the whole story.

[Tins]

I'm not defending anyone, I'm saying that clip is not enough to tell the whole story.

Couldn't agree more.

[Eevo]

not sure i need to know the whole story. the end result is a car was run off the road by a truck on the wrong side of the road.

[Tins]

not sure i need to know the whole story. the end result is a car was run off the road by a truck on the wrong side of the road.

So much for innocent until proven guilty then, or is that only for terrorists?

[Gordie]

Similar to guns...trucks are an emotive subject to the average Jo.

[Fatso]

Similar to guns...trucks are an emotive subject to the average Jo.

Who or what is the average Jo , who then is not the average Jo .

The bloke in the truck must fit into one of these category,s .

[Gordie]

The average Jo is the person who nowadays feel that it is better to take footage of an incident and run off to the media...so that the media can then sensationalise it...and hold on-air armchair committees debating the incident.

The un-average Jo would probably report it to Police and let them do their job...and let the justice system follow due course.

But of course, that doesn't sell 'bums on seats' at tv-ratings time.

[Eevo]

So much for innocent until proven guilty then, or is that only for terrorists?
i'm more scared of Garden Grove drivers than terrorists.

[trout1105]

I'm not defending anyone, I'm saying that clip is not enough to tell the whole story.

I agree that it doesn't tell the whole story But it does show a truck running another road user off the road and a double white line only meters in front of the two trucks.
Can you give us a reasonable scenario where what is happening could be called safe and lawful ?

[V8Ian]

I agree that it doesn't tell the whole story But it does show a truck running another road user off the road and a double white line only meters in front of the two trucks.
Can you give us a reasonable scenario where what is happening could be called safe and lawful ?
Read my previous reply, there are dozens of reasons why it happened, I've only cited a few. Nowhere have I said it was legal or safe.

Can I have a show of hands of all the people who have never made a mistake or broken a traffic rule, deliberately or inadvertently?

[Eevo]

Can I have a show of hands of all the people who have never made a mistake or broken a traffic rule, deliberately or inadvertently?

i've never made a mistake that resulted in other vehicle being being run off the road.

[trout1105]

Can I have a show of hands of all the people who have never made a mistake or broken a traffic rule, deliberately or inadvertently?

We are not discussing that, We are discussing what this idiot did and got CAUGHT doing it [bigwhistle]

[ATH]

I like most other drivers make mistakes because we're not perfect. But my mistakes have never resulted in someone having to leave the road to avoid a collision, or having any accident apart from knocking the post box down in my driveway.
Just because a bloke is being paid to drive a truck doesn't mean he's a good professional driver. I know a couple I wouldn't let drive a little kids car let alone a truck. One "suffers" from anger management problems (and has had counselling courtesy of the taxpayer for it) ..... in other words he's an idiot and admits to chucking empty stubbies out the window at other drivers!
Anyone who starts overtaking without being able to see clearly he can get past safely is an idiot especially a truck driver who should know better.
AlanH.

[Tins]

I would like to remind you all of the Current Affairs show that 'set up' a truck driver in the Burnley Tunnel. The whole thing was staged, with the poor truckie as the fall guy. This was later exposed for the sensationalist fake that it was.
I'm not saying that this incident we have here was faked, I'm saying that a 10 second video proves nothing at all. Contrary to popular opinion, the camera can most certainly lie.
Like Ian, I am defending nobody. But I'm not crucifying someone in a kangaroo court either.

[Sitec]

Yup, we've all seen the video... All 10 or 15 seconds of it... And with it we have a divide... approx 50% who think the truck was in the wrong and doing a dangerous overtake, and approx 50% who don't know...We have those that admit to making mistakes, but say that they've never run someone off the road (that they know of)... If they had would they be happy with being thrown in jail?

Sooo.. We have seen a truck on the wrong side of the road overtaking/avoiding/passing another truck, which in turn forced a car to take evasive action and use the gravel to avoid a head on.. What none of us have seen is the 5 minutes prior to the video.. so how can any of us decide who is right or wrong!?

I used to drive a semi for a living in the UK hauling containers... I had an incident where a car pulled out in front of me on the left. Had I not made the snap decision to cross the solid white line to avoid that car, neither of the occupants would have survived. 40 tonnes at 50+ mph does not stop instantly. I managed to clip the right side of one of the oncoming cars that was doing his best to avoid me... We all stopped.. The driver of the car who pulled out in front of me thought I was a "donkey" for 'overtaking' him, whereas the guy I hit (who I thought was going to be wild) and the car following him saw the whole thing. They commended me for not cleaning up the car who pulled out, and the guy who I hit was not phased by the state of his wing and doors! Had he not been on the ball, seen it, understood it, and avoided it, I would have been accused of dangerous driving.

Moral of the story... Don't make assumptions until you know the facts.. We don't know the facts yet. They will hopefully come out, and then we can point the finger. I know someone who works for that company, and will prob hear about it when the dust settles. If I do I will update this thread. There is a fair chance both trucks have dash cams, and that they're being viewed/investigated as we speak.

[Eevo]

just a reminder

Before overtaking another vehicle, you must:


be sure it is safe to do so
on a single-lane road, be sure that the road ahead is clear for a sufficient distance
be sure you have sufficient distance to return to the same lane or line of traffic without endangering the vehicle being overtaken or any vehicle coming from the opposite direction
be sure no other vehicle is overtaking your vehicle by checking the road behind in your mirrors and blind spot
signal your intention to overtake for long enough to give sufficient warning to all other road users.



AUSTRALIAN ROAD RULES - REG 140


140—No overtaking unless safe to do so


A driver must not overtake a vehicle unless—


(a) the driver has a clear view of any approaching traffic; and


(b) the driver can safely overtake the vehicle.

[101RRS]

But I'm not crucifying someone in a kangaroo court either.

Its a forum where anything within reason can be discussed - the outcomes of our discussion mean diddly squat - it is forum nothing more.

[Chops]

Read my previous reply, there are dozens of reasons why it happened, I've only cited a few. Nowhere have I said it was legal or safe.

Can I have a show of hands of all the people who have never made a mistake or broken a traffic rule, deliberately or inadvertently?

(with up-stretched arm) Oo, Oo, Oo, Oo,,,,,


ummmm,,,



awe,, the agony of defeat [bigwhistle]

[trout1105]

On another note that Bus driver that pulled out in front of the semi video which is a lot shorter that the incident we are talking about here has this said about it in the news.

Liverpool police today issued the bus driver with a court attendance notice for dangerous and negligent driving.
He is due to appear in Liverpool Local Court on July 19.

[solmanic]

I'm sorry but I have just returned from India and I see nothing of consequence here. Truck overtakes other truck with oncoming traffic. No collision, death or injury, normal driving resumes. My perspective of what constitutes unsafe driving has been permanently altered.

[Eevo]

I'm sorry but I have just returned from India and I see nothing of consequence here. Truck overtakes other truck with oncoming traffic. No collision, death or injury, normal driving resumes. My perspective of what constitutes unsafe driving has been permanently altered.


The frequency of traffic collisions in India is amongst the highest in the world. A National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report revealed that every year, more than 135,000 traffic collision-relateddeaths occur in India.

enough said

[Chops]

The frequency of traffic collisions in India is amongst the highest in the world. A National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report revealed that every year, more than 135,000 traffic collision-relateddeaths occur in India.

enough said

Yep,,, and that's the style of driving they seem to try and do here too [bigwhistle]

[d2dave]

The frequency of traffic collisions in India is amongst the highest in the world. A National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report revealed that every year, more than 135,000 traffic collision-relateddeaths occur in India.

enough said

Not a problem over there as there are plenty of replacements[smilebigeye][smilebigeye]

[Fatso]

This thread is starting to sound like the (used to be millers pub) in Parramatta on a friday night . !! . :soapbox:

[solmanic]

Yes, India's driving habits are total crap, I should have chosen my wording better... What I meant was my perception of what constitutes normal driving has been permanently altered.

[Chops]

Yes, India's driving habits are total crap, I should have chosen my wording better... What I meant was my perception of what constitutes normal driving has been permanently altered.

It was a bit of an eye opener being driven around over there by a local. About a 250-300 Klm drive up to Nasic through a rather windy pass up a mountain range,,, my offsider wouldn't look at the road ahead at all, and he'd been there a couple of times already. Coming head to head with two trucks across the road :huh::blink::eek2: But you do get used to it. Generally they are very courteous drivers there,, but here, because we follow logical rules,, it throws you off somewhat.

[trout1105]

From Water Buffalo to Prado in 2 months is always going to cause problems [bigwhistle]

[PhilipA]

Yeah, I have had a couple of truly frightening experiences with Indian sub continent drivers.
Once in about 1985 I caught Limo from Riyadh airport to home. We went out on the excellent expressway and the speedo went up and up through the ding dong at 130 to about 200 in a Nissan 300C.

I asked the driver how long he had been driving. "oh sir I have been driving for one week." where are you from?
"Bangladesh Sir" Shouwai shouwai , (slow down slow down) said through gritted teeth.

Again going from Mumbai to Pune on the only expressway in India about 11 years ago in a dunger of a Corolla taxi at up to 160 , passing 4 rollovers in the 130 or so Km. Slow down driver .

Also seat belts are not compulsory in Mysore so they take them out. Retrning in a Hotel Astra from Mysore to Bangalore at night passing trucks with trucks coming, unlit oxcart turning in front, overtaking moves around trucks with trucks coming and the rest of the tailback filling the space. I don't EVER want to do that again.
Regards Philip A

[Eevo]

behind a paywall

Garden Grove truck driver sacked over terrifying overtaking near-miss, sparking war of words with transport union

A TRUCK driver has been sacked over a terrifying near-miss overtaking manoeuvre captured on dash-cam — but the Transport Workers Union says it should be the company in the firing line.

Vision of the incident, which was shared on Facebook earlier this month (http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/law-order/dashcam-footage-of-terrifying-nearmiss-outside-port-augusta-as-truck-driver-overtakes-another-truckie/news-story/b4263755a35210cfb63d9c3b48da530c), showed one truck overtaking another near Port Augusta, forcing the driver in the oncoming lane off the road to avoid a collision.


The truck in question was branded Garden Grove and the company stood the driver down on full pay pending the outcome of an investigation.
On Monday, it was confirmed the driver had been sacked.
“Garden Grove Haulage reacted as soon as it was made aware of the very near-miss through social media,” the company posted on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/GardenGroveSupplies/).
“We spoke immediately with the truck driver and then ‘stood him down’ on pay while we conducted a full investigation.
“The findings of our investigation were that the actions of the truck driver involved warranted dismissal, and therefore, his employment with Garden Grove Haulage was terminated on 9th June 2017.”
The incident has sparked a war of words between the union, representing transport workers, and the South Australian Road Transport Association (SARTA), which represents transport operators.
Ian Smith, secretary of the SA/NT branch of the TWU, said the incident reflects concerning workplace conditions.
“The culture at the company is one of disregard for safety: drivers are forced to work long hours because of unrealistic schedules and the payment system where drivers are paid per kilometre incentivises drivers being pushed to the limit,” he said.
“The company covers up this culture — by paying drivers for work on Saturdays they did not do when they are forced to work up to 17 hours a day during the week.”
Mr Smith said the practice of “pushing drivers to the limit” has seen at least nine experienced drivers leave in the past few months.
Speaking on behalf of Garden Grove, SARTA’s executive officer, Steve Shearer, said the long-distance driving industrial award requires truck drivers be paid for time spent driving and unloading or loading trucks.
He said the award does not recognise time spent waiting in the truck as work and therefore employees are not legally entitled to be paid, but said Garden Grove may choose to compensate employees for their waiting time and that is why drivers could be paid for more than the maximum-allowed 14 hours per day.
Mr Shearer said if the union was concerned about the safety of drivers, their issues should be raised at a regular meeting aimed at identifying issues on the road.
“For 21 years I have chaired monthly meetings of the South Australian Law Enforcement Liasion Group, which is (made up of) SARTA, the South Australian Police, the Department of Transport, SafeWork SA and, when they bother to show up, the Transport Workers’ Union,” he said.
“If the union believes it actually has some substantive allegations to back up its claims about Garden Grove, then you’ve got to ask the question about why they aren’t bothering to attend the meetings and make that information available to police.”
Responding to Mr Shearer, Mr Smith said the liaison group was established by SARTA and has no authority beyond an advisory group.
“It’s not an official body that has any rights or power to make decisions for the industry,” he said.
“SARTA invites us and we attend from time to time, but it’s their group.”
Garden Grove was contacted by The Advertiser but did not wish to make any further comment.

[trout1105]

Thanks for the heads up Eevo.
Nothing changes and we would be naive to think it would over this incident.
The Truckie lost his job (Not his licence) and everyone else is just playing the Blame Game.

[Eevo]

The Truckie lost his job (Not his licence) and everyone else is just playing the Blame Game.

police may still take action. so car only his emploee has taken action.