Printable View
But.........
What were the prevailing conditions prior to coming across said flooded roadway.
His choice to do 80 odd may have been because the last 10km has been perfectly safe to do so.
As for being on the phone; he was on hands free and reacted immediately to the threat.
**** happens...... no everybody can be perfect 100% of the time.
A city slicker? I bet if he had grown up in the bush he would have had a bit more knowledge of driving on country roads.
Inexperience and inattention is what caused this event.
If you look at the dashcam footage on the approach to the river crossing there was a yellow sign saying caution (One Way Bridge) and the driver didn't slow down at this point.
Anyone with any sort of experience knows that there is a GOOD chance that river and creek crossings will be flooded after heavy rains and they treat EVERY water crossing with caution and SLOW DOWN, This driver didn't.
Even in "Hands Free" mode talking on a phone is a distraction and the report also says that he was following his GPS to find his way back to the Bruce Highway, This would have also been a distraction.
Also the ute would have been "Heavy" with $40,000 worth of work gear on it and would take a lot longer to brake to a stop that an empty ute.
It is unfortunate that this poor bugger ended up in the middle of the river But the accident was 100% avoidable IF the driver had more experience and IF he had been giving the road his full attention.
Even if the driver is telling the truth that he was only doing 80kph That is Way too fast to approach a one lane bridge/crossing even in dry conditions.
Thats a narrow bridge sign (not a one way).
$40k of telecom gear can be a shoe box!
As said. He may have crossed dozens of crossings with no water prior... doesn’t mean he was aware of any rain in the area.
A narrow bridge and a one way bridge has the same hazards as only one vehicle can safely use it at a time and should be treated with the same amount of caution, The driver either failed to notice the caution sign or simply Ignored it and didn't slow down.
He may have crossed other crossings that were OK But that doesn't say that ALL the crossings are clear, He was probably lulled by this into a false sense of security.
That’s what I’m thinking.
Years ago I did multiple interstate trips each month.
I got very used to seeing “stock crossing” signs with no stock.
Until that ONE day!!! Brakes and tyre smoke for everyone.....
Very easy to fall into that trap.
See on that note in SA it’s now a penalty for leaving traffic control signs in place when they aren’t active.
And just prior to that, the massive sign describing 'Road subject to flooding'!!!Quote:
Originally Posted by trout1105
In the rain, narrow bridge, blind ridge, inexperience, distraction, and an ... un-brake-able Hilux ...
Don't need to be Einstein to work out the rest.
Considering the obvious audible tyre sqealing, I'm curious to know if his Hilux (supposedly) had ABS too.
Surely as a working contractor, his would be a late model(say, less than 10yr old) and it'd have ABS.
Absolutely. I have a generator simulator that is the size of a suitcase and weighs 42Kg - it's $74K worth. Hardly overloaded in my Hilux, but worth more that the vehicle.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tombie