A little bit quick i think.

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Originally Posted by 101 Ron

Whats the problem all of sudden.
Every time I travel on the Hume between 1am and 4am the trucks
are cruising at 140 kph and this has been going on for a very long time.
I know when the trucks are doing this it is safe as houses to do the same thing as they are all talking on the CB and the cops are not around.
I think this was the reason that distance to distance average time cameras were brought in.( good for govt funds too)
I have no problem with trucks going a little bit over 100 kph to over take or to get a run up over the hill etc.
The problem is the bad driver who gets inpatient and carry on as cow boys etc.
many a time I have been cut off dangerously by a overtaking truck or pushed if I am driving a slow vehicle etc.
The few stuff it for the many.
If the do gooders are upset over the speeding and overiding of speed limiters, why have they not done any thing about it from day one and enforced the limiters.
Some decent roads for the trucks would help.....the pacific hwy is a joke if it wasnt so serious.
For every death on single lane and non by pass parts of the pacific hwy a polly should be chained to the middle of the single lanes until death( wouldnt take long)........some thing may get done.

I would as a truck driver go mad over time trying to put up with the city parking yards called major roads in sydney and then try to drive to brisbane a couple of times a week and back again.

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Or three times, as most drivers are commited to six legs a week.
I spend quite a bit of time on the Hume, Pacific and Newell Highways and find speeding trucks to be the rare exception rather than the rule.
If speeding is such a killer as politicians try to tell us, 'Every kay over is a killer' and such guff, why haven't cars been speed limited? More people are killed in/by cars than trucks. Truck accidents are more spectacular and sell papers/air time while scaring the gullable.

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Originally Posted by V8Ian

Or three times, as most drivers are commited to six legs a week.
I spend quite a bit of time on the Hume, Pacific and Newell Highways and find speeding trucks to be the rare exception rather than the rule.
If speeding is such a killer as politicians try to tell us, 'Every kay over is a killer' and such guff, why haven't cars been speed limited? More people are killed in/by cars than trucks. Truck accidents are more spectacular and sell papers/air time while scaring the gullable.

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That's easy and the pollies have explained it to you by their actions more than by their words. Speeding cars = REVENUE. Safety cameras? What a joke! They are all about another form of tax. Have a look at every state budget, they not only budget the speeding camera revenue, they plan increases and budget for them. If any government was fair dinkum about road accidents and fatalities, why don't they implement proper driving training as part of the licence requirements? In Europe, learner drivers have to learn how to feed in to a fast flowing traffic stream. Our drivers can't cope with merging traffic, try the M5 in Sydney any morning.

As an exercise in cynicism, the previous NSW Gov't realised that in 12 months 60,000 drivers had lost their licences. So they increased the number of points you could have, and decreased the number of points per offence. That way, they would not lose so many of their best 'customers'.

A lot of fiddling with speed limiters could have been prevented with a little common sense when the limit was legislated. Keep the speed limit for heavy vehicles at 100 k's but the speed limiters to be set at 110 k's. The speed limit to be 110 whilst overtaking.This gives the opportunity to overtake the grey nomad terrorists with their caravans and motor home road blocks, and those pests who drive at 90-95 k's where one can't overtake and then speed up where there is an overtaking lane or opportunity.

It is completely stupid to now have 600 hp trucks with good brakes, improved suspensions, low profile steel radial tyres,etc. vastly improved roads and keep the speed limit the same as it was in 1960. Give the drivers a little leeway to use that power.

Governments around the country are setting everyone up for massive fines with their "chain of responsibility" laws, if a truck is overloaded or exceeds the speed limit or breaks some other law everyone from the trucking company through the driver onto the bloke that loaded him to the company the consigned that the load has a responsibility and can be called into account.

This makes everyone accountable for each others actions, a despatch manager for a major company, selecting the transport company on the lowest tender doesn't wash any more, we must make sure that the said transport company has policies in place that protect your company.

We already have so many laws to prevent this sought of thing all governments and judiciaries need do is have the will to enforce them and give the copper's the resources needed.

I like some of the new government enabled multiple bites at the same cherry routine....*
you get done for the speeding fine, the company gets done for not having the limiter set correctly... AND THEN... they get a visit from the OH+S mob and you get done for not operating the equipment safely and then they get a fine for not providing you with equipment that was safe to operate AND if a total number of infraction points is exceeded they get to do a full safety audit and then the fun and the fines really heap up.

It gets really really interesting if it was a hire truck and the interest level compounds if during the inspection they find that part of the load (say a pallet) from a third party (not you or the company or the hire truck company) is not correctly packed and stowed (even if you did tie it down onto the truck correctly)

Tell me thats not all about revenue raising.

* I maintain the statement about the need for a sarcasm font

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Keep the speed limit for heavy vehicles at 100 k's but the speed limiters to be set at 110 k's. The speed limit to be 110 whilst overtaking.This gives the opportunity to overtake the grey nomad terrorists with their caravans and motor home road blocks, and those pests who drive at 90-95 k's where one can't overtake and then speed up where there is an overtaking lane or opportunity.

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alright it has been 12 years since i was driving but the speed limiters in QLD were set at 105kph so you could complete an overtaking maneuver, however i did hear of a few ways to get around them even then.

The report does not suprise me at all. Seen trucks loaded and unloaded travelling well over the speed limits.
I am a little stunned that a few here seem to be condoning it and insinuating that it is safe. That is just rubbish.
Have a good look at braking distances of heavy vehicles at that speed. I for one know I would not like my family to be in a situation where a truck has to slow from 140-150kmph to avoid hitting a car or pedestrian.
IMHO drivers doing this sort of speed should lose their heavy vehicle licence for good.
I have nearly been run off the road by road trains with wagging dogs come close passing me at well over 120 fully loaded.
There is no simple answer as we as a community have placed ridiculous schedules on truck & freight deliveries.
There should be fairer schedules and no penalties for late deliveries with just reason. Coles, Woolies, Bunnings etc are the worst offenders.
Look most truck drivers do the right thing and are just hard working people trying to earn a quid, but as with every industry there are cowboys and these people get the bulk of the publicity.