Thread: four police officers killed after being hit by semi-trailer on eastern hwy vic

Originally Posted by 350RRC

Has been the law in Vic since July 1 2017, even when the lights are flashing on the other side of an undivided road.

Surprising how few people know about it.

cheers, DL

Victoria only publicise laws by having the poor copper tell you about changes when booking you for it. I found out about single unbroken white lines this way. Watching traffic on the West Gate Bridge I'm tipping I'm not alone. So, no, not surprising at all.

Any QC worthy of the title will rub his hands with glee. Charges will be dismissed. With all this publicity he will never be tried in Victoria at least. Already been tried in the Court of Media Opinion. Is there a potential juror in Victoria who can honestly express no knowledge of the event?

Have a look at our justice system.

Presumption of innocence.

Innocent until found guilty.

Trial before a jury of your peers.

Found guilty beyond reasonable doubt.

What are the charges that might stick? Speeding? Drugs in system? Bail breaches? Nothing of any moment. He did not drive a truck into four coppers. He was taking a leak some distance away. Might get him on leaving the scene, failure to render assistance, callous disregard.

i dont think its hit the media yet, but two police officers in SA have been killed in a MVA. something to do with a speeding car traveling on the wrong side of the road.

Originally Posted by 4bee

But usually the ARMCO is no higher than say, knee high. Tall enough for 'er indoors to scale with a Front Somersault whilst clinging to her Hand Bag. The killer dillers I see on th M1 are the wire cable x3 type, just right to separate a motor cyclist in a slide situation from his Left & Right torso beginning at the Crotch.

Both systems have their faults. 4bee raises a point that trucking advocacy groups have been screaming for for years. There is NO safe space ( a term I hate usually, but perfectly appropriate here ) on a freeway. Anyone who has had to do something as mundane as change a tyre on one will attest to that.

{I remember requesting the officer from VicRoads who pulled me over for something that he discussed the situation on the kerb side of my B-Double for safety reasons. I had always thought that they would have been trained to do that. Anything that hits the truck ain't likely to get through to you.}

The cheesecutter cables, yeah, I hear you. Their purpose is to arrest a vehicle without bouncing it back into traffic. Bikies don't count apparently. Greatest good I guess.

Back to 4bee's point. Freeways have long been designed with traffic volume in mind. Safety was always considered to be a function of enforcement, not of design. And we have accepted it. We were wrong.

On Sydney's M7 there are a number ( not enough ) of bays which are probably safe. In the truck, if the authorities wanted to pull me over for whatever, I would head for those, and explain to the uniform why I didn't stop when he told me to in safety. Bays of this nature are a no brainer, so I guess road planners who don't include them have no brains.

All of this is way off topic. However it is a far more appropriate discussion than the blame game some seem to prefer.

Originally Posted by cjc_td5

Very sad.
This incident is a reason we have Go Slow laws around emergency vehicles....

We don't have them in Qld.

In some ways,crawling along at 40Km/hr,in a 110Km/hr zone,as an example, could be very dangerous.

I don't believe there are any more incidents in Qld,than anywhere else,in relation to not having these go slow rules.

Originally Posted by scarry

We don't have them in Qld.

In some ways,crawling along at 40Km/hr,in a 110Km/hr zone,as an example, could be very dangerous.

Salutary point. I am 66. I knew of the law here in Vic through the CB traffic in the truck. Never heard of it otherwise. Most people I know who are over 40 have no idea. I don't care about "ignorance is no excuse" crap. If the Government thinks that a law is a good idea FOR SAFETY then they should tell everybody about it. That's what we pay the idiots for. The idea that some folk will slow to 40 and the vast majority will continue at 100 is a recipe for mayhem. Speed differential itself is a massive killer.

Once again, OT I guess. None of the speculation on this site pertains to the investigation into this tragedy.

The rule was introduced in NSW in Sept 2019. They promoted the rule change extensively on radio, TV and socila media and gave a grace period - there was really no excuse not to know.

While heading home through the Royal Nat Park a couple of months ago I was second behind a vehicle that was travelling somewhat below the speed limit (enough for a long line of traffic to accumulate). Travelling in an 80 zone at 60, we came across Highway Patrol doing a traffic stop, driver in front touched their brakes lightly but didn't slow down - I did. 3 to 4 minutes later the copper was getting very large very quickly in my rear view mirror with the christmas tree on full twinkle. He screamed passed me only dive in behind the plodder in front and pull them over. It took me a full half hour to twig to the fact it must have been for not slowing down 40Kph. I can only assume they have tech on board that records the event with vehicle details.

Originally Posted by 4bee

Two wrongs do not make a right.. But let us lynch him while the crime is still fresh in everybody's memory 'coz in a few weeks he will Oz History..
I want to pull the trapdoor latch please.

Just to point out, again, that the guy in the Porsche is an unpleasant person but he didn’t kill the police - they were hit by the truck.