Thread: Bungy strap failure cost two lives

And of course the tailgating truck that ran into the Yaris because it could not stop in time may not have caused the accident but had a lot to with the deaths.

I agree with your point about occy straps - most are not UV stabilised and break down quickly when exposed to sunlight. However the same applies to cheaper rachet straps - all the cheaper ones I have used regularly have broken due to UV degradation of the webbing.

Make the straps UV stable and most will work fine.

Garry

Originally Posted by Discomark

Maybe they should be covered by Australian standards.

Truckie's brains covered by Australian Standards ? Yes, for some of them it should be mandatory, I agree.

The first lesson I learned when I had my first 4x4 was that I needed longer space to stop it than my previous car.

I always try to avoid having a truck tailgating me. I prefer to let him overtake in a downhill.

I admit to using bungy cords for holding lighter items onto my tray, but I never use perished ones and always use more than one in case of a failure. It's common sense really .

And as for the truck driver; well it's not only common sense, but the law, to maintain a safe following distance. This is a very unfortunately way for him/her to learn that the roads rules are in place for a reason.


James.

Been driving a Telstra Van for the last 30 yrs I know only too well the importance of securing ladder properly, surely no one could forgive the moron who used bungie cords and pass the blame onto the truck driver.

Im guilty as charged, have lost two ladders off the top of the van myself. 100% my fault , both times no accident and by the time I did a u turn to find some good samaratin has moved the ladder and taken it away. Its now a sackable offence in Telstra.

Bungee cords should be illegal and you are a moron if you use them . not only for said reason but so many have lost their eyesight from these things.

I for one have had a horrific eye injury resulting in a cornea graft and a self inflicted cataract.

Originally Posted by goingbush

Been driving a Telstra Van for the last 30 yrs I know only too well the importance of securing ladder properly, surely no one could forgive the moron who used bungie cords and pass the blame onto the truck driver.

Im guilty as charged, have lost two ladders off the top of the van myself. 100% my fault , both times no accident and by the time I did a u turn to find some good samaratin has moved the ladder and taken it away. Its now a sackable offence in Telstra.

Bungee cords should be illegal and you are a moron if you use them . not only for said reason but so many have lost their eyesight from these things.

I for one have had a horrific eye injury resulting in a cornea graft and a self inflicted cataract.

When I was at Telstra it was impossible to lose a ladder from a car/van as they had those Rhino Rack ladder holders with a thing at the front so it couldn't go forward and a loop part way along so it couldn't bounce up or off sideways. It could only come off backwards but you had a pull strap to stop that and any rattles.
This was just for A frame ladders used in exchanges though. Not extension ladders.

If anyone is to blame it is the NSW Government, The Roads and Traffic Authority and Leighton Holdings who built the M5 at least 4 lanes too narrow and without emergency lanes on each side sufficient for the transport needs of Sydney.

After that the van that lost the ladder is at fault.

It's very tragic but it is likely that the Yaris driver, didn't take appropriate avoidance techniques and instead took panic mode and slammed on the anchors on a 110KM section of urban motorway.

I don't see anywhere in the artcle where the truck driver is to blame, if he left sufficient breaking distance between him and the Yaris in front, then 10 other cars would squeeze into the driver's braking space and it would have been a different Yaris or a Barina or a Smart car that got run over.

Originally Posted by Lotz-A-Landies

If anyone is to blame it is the NSW Government, The Roads and Traffic Authority and Leighton Holdings who built the M5 at least 4 lanes too narrow and without emergency lanes on each side sufficient for the transport needs of Sydney.

After that the van that lost the ladder is at fault.

It's very tragic but it is likely that the Yaris driver, didn't take appropriate avoidance techniques and instead took panic mode and slammed on the anchors on a 110KM section of urban motorway.

I don't see anywhere in the artcle where the truck driver is to blame, if he left sufficient breaking distance between him and the Yaris in front, then 10 other cars would squeeze into the driver's braking space and it would have been a different Yaris or a Barina or a Smart car that got run over.

Sorry but I object to road conditions being blamed for accidents. It is road user behaviour that is 99.9% responsible for accidents and probably less than 0.1% from unforeseeable other failures. The road is inanimate so look before you drive on it, if you can not see the pot holes or off camber or oil slick then slow down.

Originally Posted by rainman

I admit to using bungy cords for holding lighter items onto my tray, but I never use perished ones and always use more than one in case of a failure. It's common sense really .

And as for the truck driver; well it's not only common sense, but the law, to maintain a safe following distance. This is a very unfortunately way for him/her to learn that the roads rules are in place for a reason.


James.

These litle conversations can get messy and at the risk of being harsh, dont blam the truck driver unless you were there. It is an impossible situation on a multi lane road to keep any distance from the cars in front. As soon as you move back 3 cars pull in front. It is car drivers that need to learn to stay away from trucks. OK OK, there are cowboys. I am not and I'd like to take you for a drive on the M1 on the Gold Coast with a wide load and you can teach me how to stay back, it cant be done.

A small car slams on it's brakes 100m from you and unless you can swerve without taking out the cars beside, you are going to hit that small car in a B Double. Thankfully I dont have to steer one of those and most of the time I am in a drilling rig not driving.

Those bungy cords have not been any good since the 70's and even then they were dangerous. They should not be allowed for tying down loads. There are now plenty of clamps available for those who cannot tie knots.