The Highways Of Death In Australia...those who looked away.

reply to post by Dr Expired


Much of the fault lays with the large supermarket chains who place time frames on the truckies rather than put more trucks on the roads and shorter shifts.

reply to post by bluemirage5


In the states, harsher laws have been passed. I think you can only drive for 6 or 8 hours at a time. A few of my buddies who are still trucking, now travel in teams of 2 and switch on and off. Seems a lot safer that way.

reply to post by Dr Expired


With all due respect , i find your rant a little harsh. I am a "truck driver" and i have driven this road you speak of , and i currently drive long distances in Aus. If you ever have the chance to get a ride in a 60 ton loaded truck on this road and consider how long it takes to stop when a car in front of you brakes for no reason, slows to turn without indicating, overtakes you then slows down, speeds up when you try to overtake them , slows down to read a sign because they are lost, remember this. The road is our workplace , we are not there to enjoy the scenery,cry because we are late for work or complain that the lights are red, we are at work. How would you like it if i came to your workplace and whinged about the way you conducted your business. All truck drivers are guided by laws and regulations that are not only the drivers responsibility to follow, but also the company owners. If these laws are broken the driver gets the worst of it because it was his/her decision to drive the truck, if it is unroadworthy , dont drive it, if you are out of hours , dont drive. All drivers can refuse to drive and not lose their job if they have to break the law to do it. Maybe you should be aware of people in their workplace, its no holiday. scratchya later

reply to post by Dr Expired


Your version is a bit over the top, don't you think.

I have driven a million miles on Aussie roads and the only thing I see lots of death with, is the native animals by incompetent or occasionally unlucky drivers. Sure the occasional truck driver might pressure the odd incompetent or unlucky driver for what ever reason, but keep it real. I have seen the Aussie coppers do worse when it gets down to it, but I am guessing you would refer to this as keeping the public safe, its all perspective I guess.

reply to post by Qumulys


So the real perpetrators are the receiving facilities.
Perhaps I am soft headed but I think motor safety is more important than a 10 minute window.

Originally posted by scratcher
reply to post by Dr Expired

 

With all due respect , i find your rant a little harsh. I am a "truck driver" and i have driven this road you speak of , and i currently drive long distances in Aus. If you ever have the chance to get a ride in a 60 ton loaded truck on this road and consider how long it takes to stop when a car in front of you brakes for no reason, slows to turn without indicating, overtakes you then slows down, speeds up when you try to overtake them , slows down to read a sign because they are lost, remember this. The road is our workplace , we are not there to enjoy the scenery,cry because we are late for work or complain that the lights are red, we are at work. How would you like it if i came to your workplace and whinged about the way you conducted your business. All truck drivers are guided by laws and regulations that are not only the drivers responsibility to follow, but also the company owners. If these laws are broken the driver gets the worst of it because it was his/her decision to drive the truck, if it is unroadworthy , dont drive it, if you are out of hours , dont drive. All drivers can refuse to drive and not lose their job if they have to break the law to do it. Maybe you should be aware of people in their workplace, its no holiday. scratchya later

With all due respect , the whole point is a truck cannot stop quickly as you have said..., so recognising this constraint due to physical laws of friction, ect Truck drivers should not tailgate cars, motorbikes small vans other trucks ect.

It is your workplace , but consider this 250 people die due to Heavy Truck s smashing into them, thousands more are injured to varying degrees,,,,all in a 365 day period.

Safe workplace? ...or not?

reply to post by Dr Expired


I understand that there are a few cowboys out there that give us honest truckies a bad name, but hey, its nothing new. Bad cops, judges polititians,cooks,child care workers all messing with life and death. My advice is wear a helmet, its gonna be a rough ride.www.smh.com.au...

Just an update on the Tweed Heads (Australia) Sexton Hill road upgrade that has been developing for at least two years? now.

Many of us motorists have been curious why so much money and time has been afforded to this section of Australias Pacific Highway.

The strong rumour is , that once this section is completed, even bigger trucks coupled with more frequent truck freight movements will be imposed on the Australian motorist, between Sydney and Brisbane, Brisbane to Sydney.

Yes they have upgraded a tight steep hill that made c triples? impractical due to braking constaints? in order that even more lives will be wiped out , that even more commuters will be victims, sound like the concentration camp mentality?

Efficency over human life?

Yes bigger trucks as a rseult of the upgrade, but just ten kilometeres down the road there is a two lane poorly surfaced road with several merging lanes used by mums and dads dropping off their kids at schools situated just near the on /off ramps.

I have seen a car wedged in a tree on this stretch pushed by a truck tailgating, now our caring govt, has spent millions of dollars ensuring there will more numerous and even bigger trucks killing more and more innocent motorists.

Oh and get this there is no direct train line between Brisbane and Sydney, yes Sydney population 4 million is not connected directly to Brisbane population approx 2 and a half million, both respective capitals of their respective states?

Why?

Oh lets hazard a guess or two.

Yes profits to those who own the ....yes .

The thousands who are injured , maimed, or killed?

Collateral damage.

Expendable human beings.

Just how many Politicans travel interstate by car?


Guess the percentage between 0 and 5 %.

Death by consent, wasn't just the sin of the Nazis.

Originally posted by Chadwickus
reply to post by Dr Expired

 

Oh and let's not forget, a truck driver has a lot more skill than the average car driver, and with this skill comes the attitude of "I'm bigger and heavier than you" and really, any car driver that doesn't realise (too many IMO) that mass ALWAYS wins are just asking for trouble.

edit on 9/3/12 by Chadwickus because: (no reason given)

I strongly disagree with your quote about truck drivers having more skill than the average car driver.

I have quite a few relatives who have just turned 18 - these kids are driving big trucks - and I mean B - Doubles. They have done no advanced driving courses at all. These same kids have been picked up so many times by the police for - driving up the wrong way of a bridge (Reason - it was quicker), Speeding - (I'm in a hurry. I've got to drop my load), Load is overweight - (Can't read). Every excuse you can think of these kids have tried. They are still driving trucks today.


I personally know of many accidents (some to close relatives) who have been left disabled due to speeding truck drivers, drunk truck drivers and stupid truck drivers. The long term damage is not reversible.

I know of one truckie who ran over a car - seriously hurt a mother and her two children. One child was left clinically dead - but somehow survived. His long term medical problems would be too many to list in a post. But they do include a constant headache (Not multiple headaches - he has the same constant headache 24 hours a day, 7 days a week - which only intensifies as the day goes on. No medication works for him at all. He has tried everything).

I know of another truckie who will never drive again. He was involved in so many accidents - he was left devastated emotionally and physically. Holding a pretty young girl in your arms, while trying to keep her eye in her socket - for hours, until emergency vehicles arrive - can do that to you.

Truckies think they own the road. Do I get tailgated by truckies - yes. Am I a slow driver - no. I too used to spend a lot of time on the road - I have seen the accidents and the near misses. Near misses don't get recorded.

One relative of mine even took a trucking company to court. He won quite a lot of money. They were falsifying all their documents including petrol. This court case never made it to the mainstream news. A lot of what goes on never makes it to the mainstream news. Trucking companies are only out for the big buck.

The roads are not safe for the big trucks to use. If you see a huge four wheel drive in one lane, and a large truck in the next lane, one slip is all it would take for a serious accident, especially at the speeds they are driving at.

The government needs to realise the problem first - before anything can be done about it. The roads need to be upgraded, widened and limit the trucks to 80. That would be a first start.

Where the heck do you live? In the US and Canada, everywhere I have lived, you need a higher class license to drive even a large camper, let alone a tractor trailer.... That's insanity if it is true, it is a pain in the ass to pull my motorcycle trailer, I would never even want to drive a mac truck with one trailer lol

reply to post by Truthandinfo

I have quite a few relatives who have just turned 18 - these kids are driving big trucks - and I mean B - Doubles. They have done no advanced driving courses at all.

Dunno how they got their MC licence at 18, since you need to have held a HR licence for at least a year before you can get your MC licence and before you can get your HR licence, you need to have had a full C class licence for at least a year as well, then there is a year or two that you have to spend on your P's before obtaining a full licence, so even if a 16 year old get's his P's (possible in ACT I think, but their P's last for 3 years, not 2..) then they couldn't get their MC licence until they were 20.

So how does an 18 year old get to drive a B double again...?

Originally posted by Chadwickus
reply to post by Truthandinfo

 

I have quite a few relatives who have just turned 18 - these kids are driving big trucks - and I mean B - Doubles. They have done no advanced driving courses at all.

Dunno how they got their MC licence at 18, since you need to have held a HR licence for at least a year before you can get your MC licence and before you can get your HR licence, you need to have had a full C class licence for at least a year as well, then there is a year or two that you have to spend on your P's before obtaining a full licence, so even if a 16 year old get's his P's (possible in ACT I think, but their P's last for 3 years, not 2..) then they couldn't get their MC licence until they were 20.

So how does an 18 year old get to drive a B double again...?

The short answer is 'they know someone who knows someone'. The long answer is they have been driving trucks for years before they turned 17. Whether they have the correct licence to be driving a B - Double - I don't know. I do know though that they are driving B - Doubles. Maybe the licence system needs an overhaul!

btw - I also have a HR licence and I have never driven a truck of any kind in my life. I hope that answers your question.

reply to post by Truthandinfo


Well, kids illegally driving trucks isn't a very good way of arguing my point...

Just shows whoever let's them do it are idiots.

Obtaining a truck licence normally requires several years of experience, which is the point I was making about truck drivers being better drivers in general.

reply to post by Chadwickus


I agree with your statement that the kids I mentioned, and the person behind them are idiots.

But, I also point out that some truck drivers drive drunk and/or on drugs.

Therefore your statement that 'a truck driver has a lot more skill than the average car driver' can't be true. Your statement was a generalisation. It is a lot more complicated than that.

Some truck drivers may be better drivers than car drivers. Some car drivers may be better drivers than truck drivers.

I don't want to enter into a slanging match, I think we can agree to disagree. But I would also like to add that the licence requirements have become easier than they were some years ago.

reply to post by Truthandinfo


Yes, it's a generalization, but if you line up an average car driver with an average truck driver, the better driver will be the truck driver since he's done what's required to obtain a car licence, then has got further training to obtain his truck licence.

As for how easy it is to get a licence these days, I agree, especially with getting your c class licence, this is where more money should be spent for sure and better education at the start will follow on up the line to the truck drivers...

wow, lots of people really hate truck drivers--its evident by all the emotive language used.

For those unaware, truckies used to use the term "the filth" for the special branch of police that enforce load sizes, tire tread quality, rego, et al. The police dont look the other way as the OP suggested, this is just someone using pejorative language with no real data.

Originally posted by cartenz
wow, lots of people really hate truck drivers--its evident by all the emotive language used.

For those unaware, truckies used to use the term "the filth" for the special branch of police that enforce load sizes, tire tread quality, rego, et al. The police dont look the other way as the OP suggested, this is just someone using pejorative language with no real data.

No on ehates Truck drivers , they hate human beings who kill other human beings when yhe only reason is their decision to rate their weekly wage over the safety and lives of their fellow human beings.

If the Police /government really target Truck drivers then all that can be said is they are vety very amaeuterish.

It is a fact truck drivers behave themselves when the Police are present, but guess what , you can travel thousands of kms in Australia and never see a Police car.
Th erich owners of freight companies see to that.

Another FIVE human beings in Queensland dead , after another Truck and car collision .

Here is another that continues the tradition of preempting the facts , stating the smaller vehicle collided with the truck.

www.abc.net.au...
Think hard on this conspiracy, anyone who values justice.
The media is scared witless , about blaming the Trucking Industry, better to blame the dead.
Most news reports automatically state " a car collided with atruck" .
The Police make out its the car that causes the collisions , anyone with a conscience will tell you , the trucking industry kills more Aussie civilians with impunity, than any terrorist scum because the Australian government makes money from , turning away from those they laughingly are supposed to represent, in favour of donations and taxes from the transport industry.
FIVE human beings all from the same family.
The death stench is nothing to the stench of the criminals who made this possible, trucks that speed , who tailgate even in near blinding rain , trucks that are driven by unlicensed cheap labour, trucks that are driven by people who say awake by taking drugs.
WHY is this allowed?

MONEY...to those who turn their eyes away as they count their wallets stuffed with the misery of the dead,maimed and grief stricken loved ones left behind

Originally posted by Dr Expired
Another FIVE human beings in Queensland dead , after another Truck and car collision .

Here is another that continues the tradition of preempting the facts , stating the smaller vehicle collided with the truck.

www.abc.net.au...
Think hard on this conspiracy, anyone who values justice.
The media is scared witless , about blaming the Trucking Industry, better to blame the dead.
Most news reports automatically state " a car collided with atruck" .
The Police make out its the car that causes the collisions , anyone with a conscience will tell you , the trucking industry kills more Aussie civilians with impunity, than any terrorist scum because the Australian government makes money from , turning away from those they laughingly are supposed to represent, in favour of donations and taxes from the transport industry.
FIVE human beings all from the same family.
The death stench is nothing to the stench of the criminals who made this possible, trucks that speed , who tailgate even in near blinding rain , trucks that are driven by unlicensed cheap labour, trucks that are driven by people who say awake by taking drugs.
WHY is this allowed?

MONEY...to those who turn their eyes away as they count their wallets stuffed with the misery of the dead,maimed and grief stricken loved ones left behind

You seem extremely confused, I think your issue is that you dont believe the results of investigations after accidents or you take things told by the media a little to seriously.

Media and police might make it sound like the family in the 4wd were at fault, however until a forensic investigation is done why believe what the TV tells you.

I can understand you might have seen many crashes involving trucks but to start speculating with no real investigation seems wrong and the way charlatans trying to deceive operate.

edit on 10/11/12 by Hefficide because: (no reason given)

Deaths, maiming.
pay enough , the dead, are silent corpses.

In Australia, death on the highways...is silenced, by money.