“He was out of the truck and pounding towards me ….. “
ONE of Steven Spielberg’s first films and still his best is Duel (1971). Hardly a word of dialogue interrupts a soundtrack of the roars and hissings of a giant diesel as the unseen driver of a filthy tanker does his best to kill a bloke driving a little red car across a desert highway.
I write these words still shaken by last night’s re-enactment of a favourite film on the New England Highway. It wasn’t so much fun in real life. And my duel was with a far bigger truck - one of those 36-wheelers with an extra trailer. Where Spielberg’s monster was dark and oil-stained, my nocturnal nemesis was bright and white with blue canvas along its sides but like the cinematic original it had no markings. I’d just passed a dozen Linfox semis in an orderly convoy, a couple of Woolies’ brand-named behemoths and a clearly addressed Australia Post. But my roaring, trumpeting, headlight-beaming bully was ominously anonymous.
Nor did I ever see its licence plates. Despite an hour in dangerous proximity as the truck tailgated me at 20, 30, 40ks over the limit. Horns blaring, lights flashing, often inches behind me. The script departed from Duel’s in that I finally got a close-up view - far too close - of the driver. I could pick him out in a line-up.
Sydney to the bush. I’ve made the trip at least once a week for 25 years. Close to a million kilometres up and down a road I know too well. I leave Sydney just before midnight, hit the cot around 3am. Much later if slowed by bad weather - fog’s a recurrent problem - or the endless highway repairs. The only competition for the road is the interstate haulers heading for Brisbane.
In the bad old days when the roads were far worse, that competition could get intense - even murderous. This was the era of the pill-popping cowboys using US-style radio call-signs when warning each other of cops ahead. On a few occasions a doped-up driver would signal that it was safe to pass - and I’d pull out to see a semi hurtling towards me. You learned to drive suspiciously and defensively.
But with the steady extension of the freeway and some industry clean-ups it became much safer. I’ve got to know a few of the drivers when getting food or fuel at the truck stops. We discuss their tyrannies of distance, the pressures of soaring diesel prices and demanding employers. Those pressures clearly got to the bloke last night.
It started between Singleton and Muswellbrook on the stretch between the coalmines and the power stations. My mistake? To observe the speed limits. (I don’t want to lose more points.) Suddenly he was inches behind me, road-raging at 110kmh. I couldn’t escape him. No hope of pulling off the highway and no matter how fast I drove he’d up the ante. Despite any number of four-lane stretches and passing lanes he didn’t pass. He wanted to crush me - or send me careering off the road. This went on for over 30 minutes - and it wasn’t until we hurtled into Muswellbrook that I managed to do a wheelie into a street leading to a shopping centre. Not just in hope of escape but with the intention of returning to the highway, getting behind him, reading his number plate and calling the cops.
But after a few seconds calming down I saw that he, too, had stopped. Blocking both lanes of the side road with his monster. And he was out of the truck and pounding towards me, a monster in his own right. And what was that he was brandishing?
I threw another u-ey and did a slalom run back to the New England where I was forced to drive on the wrong side of a divided highway, rocketing along in a 60kmh area. Hoping, just this once, to hear police sirens. I called out to some startled road-workers - get his number! - but I doubt they did.
The race resumed. Actually two races - the other against a coal train. This was pure Spielberg. My only hope of escape was to get across the railway line near home … but a coal train more than a kilometre in length was fast approaching. If it got to the crossing first, I’d be trapped. Remember the scene in the movie? The black truck pushing the helpless car onto the tracks? Skidding and sliding, I made it over the crossing with seconds to spare, the warning signals already flashing.
The truckie couldn’t have known the age, gender or skills of the car driver. He had to be high on amphetamines. Perhaps someone reading this will know who he is, or identify his truck. Can’t have been too many white 36-wheelers with blue canvas sides heading for Brisbane at 2 in the morning.
Thomas
November 5th, 2008 at 8:21 am
Thomas,
I hope you will hear me out on this because I feel there are several points here that are important for you to hear.
Firstly though, I must commend you on your writing style. To be still shaken from an incident that you describe and come up with such a descriptive account, detail for detail, (except for any details that are vital to proving your account and ensuring it is not repeated), indicates a talent for writing that maybe should not be wasted writing to Coast to Coast.
I must ask, as you indicate that you travel this road frequently and confer with drivers on a regular basis, are you aware of any truck brands. I feel with enough interest developed over twenty five years of sharing the same road with, I am sure, some of the same drivers as well as many anonymous ones, and enough knowledge to know how many wheels a truck has, (well almost how many), most trucks would, by now, be familiar enough to you, that you could at least identify a Kenworth from a Freightliner, if not a Western Star. Another clue would be whether it waqs cab over or bonneted.
I can only assume, Thomas, that you are describing, or attempting to describe, a B-Double, but you can have a combination with 26 wheels, 30 wheels, 34 wheels or 36 wheels.(Stay with me here, Chris)! As it seems you are trying to describe the biggest truck on the road, I assume it would be a 34 wheeler, unless the prime mover was a twin steer, a configuration popular in Western Australia but very rare on the Eastern Seaboard. However, if you think about your description, “one of those 36 wheelers with an extra trailer”, could have been a B-Double towing a box trailer? Sorry Thomas, but you really need to give us some more detail and accurate detail at that.
At this point, I must add that I have no doubt at all that you have experienced an incident with an irate truck driver, but let me continue.
Another small, but, identifying detail, you describe blue canvas sides. Again I must ask, for someone with so much experience with trucks, can you tell us if it was a flat top trailer with blue tarps or maybe a taught liner, which is a van with vinyl curtains, probably a lot more common these days.
Anyway enough of the details, Thomas, I too have travelled that road once or twice and if my memory still serves me correctly, the speed limit on most of it is 100kph, correct me if I err, so again, I can only assume that this truck is now capable of 140kph….., that’s enough!
Diplamatik S*#T!
Thomas, I’ll keep it simple for you Mate,…. You’re full of S*#T!
Enough investigative journalism, I’ll itemise it for you.
Singleton to Musswellbrook…, 45k”s maybe?
Bayswater (where you claim all this started) to Musswellbrook…, 35k”s MAX!
Over 30 minutes.., Thomas come now, that’s around 1 (ONE) KILOMETRE PER HOUR. I know.., you took the long way around!
HURTLING into Musswellbrook, it’s 60 kph zone for about 3 kilometres before you come to a T intersection. How fast were you going into town?
Instead of yelling at the road workers, why didn’t you stop in their company and amongst all of you, surely someone had a phone…, 000 perhaps? (I’m sure Damien would agree, this one would warrant it).
Why go back out on the highway and how did he catch you after negotiating the T intersection, the roundabout at the bottom of town, the uphill run through town and the bends over the bridge at the north end of town?
Again, assumptions, but that’s all you’ve given us to work with, you would have turned off just after Aberdeen, about 10-12, I’ll give you 15 k’s to your place, and after driving at 140k’s before you couldn’t drive fast enough to beat a loaded semi trailer that distance, not to mention driving right past the door of Aberdeen Police Station, (even after ignoring Musswellbrook).
As for the age, gender and driving skills of the driver, I think I have a good idea of the skills of the driver, but I wonder what story line he could have copied had Steven Spielberg had not had such a great imagination.
One last thing, Thomas, pill popping, signalling you to pull out into the path of an oncoming truck, high on amphetamines…., apart from watching too many reruns of Duel, interspersed with all those (probably taped) episodes of sixty minutes and current affairs, it sounds to me like, along the way, you have obviously upset more than one truck driver in twenty five years. It’s almost that long since I ran that road regularly, luckily, because I think if I had known you were on the road then I might have been tempted to agree with ‘your recent phsycopath’!
I wonder if one of those ‘148kph off skyline’ b-doubles hasn’t overshot Sydney and continued up the New England.
Just when Coast to Coast was starting to attract some credible comments…!
Cheers, (and I’ve got a copy of Convoy if you want a change).
Westy
November 5th, 2008 at 2:19 pm
Dear Thomas
Such a nightmarish experience for you. Sadly this agressive type of behaviour gives the responsible drivers a bad name. It doesn’t seem as if this driver wanted to communicate with you about the difficulties of truck manouvering (driver education), more likely he wanted to flatten you to vent his frustration! Lets hope that he sobers up quickly,or is removed very promptly from the roads!
Sincerely Irene Baldwin
November 5th, 2008 at 3:54 pm
Thomas you tell a good story but that’s all most of it is i think you should watch less tv there is quite a few places between singleton and muswellbrook and quite a few hills that trucks slow down on too and there be a lot of white and blue b doubles on that road too you have missed your calling you should write short stories but wait this ones already been taken i hope you don’t get sued for plagiarism
November 5th, 2008 at 4:03 pm
Hi Westy,
Whilst I have enormous respect for you as a responsible heavy vehicle driver and it’s not often I disagree with you - I’m going to have to risk putting a dent in our friendship by doing just that! When I posted Thomas’ letter earlier today, I had an idea some truckies would leap to the defence of the driver in Thomas’ story in an effort to defend the indefensible.
Dangerous, aggressive truckies DO exist. They are out there behind the wheels of heavy vehicles. Thank God, they are a minority and they present as much of a danger to you and other truckies as they do to motorists except for the undeniable fact that if they collide with a car, stats indicate the truckie will survive - the motorist won’t.
The stories I have listed below happened over a 13 day period 11 months ago on the Pacific highway
05.12.2007
Truckie was 14 times over legal limit
By CRAIG McTEAR
A COFFS HARBOUR truckie drove on the Pacific Highway more than 14 times over the blood alcohol limit, police allege. At 7.05pm on Monday, police received worrying reports about a 16-tonne refrigerated truck heading north at Urunga. Police allege the driver was travelling in a suspicious manner and swerving into oncoming traffic.
Officers attempted to stop the truck near Pine Creek, but when the driver failed to heed their directions, they chased him to just south of Coffs Harbour. They allege he had driven erratically during the northbound pursuit. Police breath tested the driver, who returned a positive reading.
They arrested him and took him to Coffs Harbour Police Station, where a breath analysis returned a reading of .285. The legal limit truck drivers must observe is .02, half that of car drivers. A Coffs Harbour man, 36, was bailed to appear in Coffs Harbour Local Court on January 7 on a charge of high-range drink-driving. His licence was immediately suspended.
The current blood alcohol limits for NSW drivers are split into three categories. Zero, 0.02, and 0.05. The limits which apply are dependent on the category of licence and the type of vehicle being driven. However, the RTA does advise that even if your legal limit is above zero it is recommended that you don’t drink any alcohol if you plan to drive.
Zero applies to:! l All learner drivers.! l All Provisional 1 drivers.! l All Provisional 2 drivers. 0.02 applies to:! l Drivers of vehicles of gross vehicle mass greater than 13.9 tonnes.! l Drivers of vehicles carrying dangerous goods.! l Drivers of public vehicles such as taxi or bus drivers. The 0.05 limits apply to all other licences that are not subject to the 0.02 or zero limits
10.12.2007
By CRAIG McTEAR
KYLE White and his partner, Janelle Tyndal, feared for their lives in a vicious road rage attack at Halfway Creek on Saturday afternoon. The Gloucester couple were still in a state of shock yesterday ahead of their trip to hospital to check the extent of their injuries after a truckie bashed them with an iron bar.
Kyle, a country music writer and former Sydney rugby league first grader, feared his knee had been badly injured, while Janelle was sporting many bruises. Kyle claims the B-double driver tailgated their Nissan four-wheel-drive for at least 45 minutes on Saturday as they drove south on the Pacific Highway. “He nearly ran up the back of us. He continually sat on our tail,” Kyle said. “I started to worry.”
He said that as they turned off at the Shell Service Station at Halfway Creek about 3pm, the semi swerved towards them before continuing south. “We didn’t think anything of it. We thought he might have been behind time,” Kyle said. “We went and got a drink and as we came outside, we saw him crouched under his truck. He ran towards our car screaming. It was unbelievable.”
Kyle said the truckie grabbed Janelle’s head as she sat in the driver’s seat and pulled her hair and punched her. When Kyle got out of the car to help, the truckie also attacked him. “When I restrained him, he was kicking me and trying to bite me,” he said. Kyle let him go and he told Janelle to get back in the car and go, but then the truckie reappeared with an iron bar, blocking their escape. “He said he was going to kill me,” Kyle said.
Their assailant then obliterated the passenger side window of the 4WD. Janelle was hit around the legs when she got out of the car and Kyle then grabbed the man and held onto him. “Then, like a lightswitch, he stopped,” Kyle said. The truckie continued heading south but was stopped and arrested at Woolgoolga.
Police interviewed the 46-year-old Queenslander and later released him, pending further inquiries.
Police questioned Kyle and Janelle at the scene before letting them head home. “The police officer said it looked like something out of a movie,” Kyle said.
17.12.2007
B-double driver on drugs terrorised family, court told
By HELEN JACK helen.jack@northernstar.com.au
A B-DOUBLE truck driver faces 18 months jail after terrorising a family of four late at night on the Pacific Highway on Wednesday. In refusing the man bail in Lismore Local Court on Friday, Magistrate Nick Reimer said there was a strong likelihood the defendant would serve a custodial sentence.
Christopher John Ford, 27, of Narngulu in Western Australia, left Sydney at 11.30am in his Kenworth B-double truck bound for Brisbane. He reached Coffs Harbour at 10.30pm where he interrupted his journey to shoot up amphetamines to help him stay awake.
Just north of Coffs Harbour a family of four travelling in a Land-Rover and towing a trailer began overtaking Ford s truck along a section of dual carriageway. But Ford steered his truck across their path in an attempt to stop them overtaking him.
To avoid a collision the driver of the Land-Rover accelerated past the truck before the dual lanes merged. From then on Ford tailgated the Land-Rover and any other vehicle caught between them.
The family called 000 to report Ford s actions and finally stopped at Woodburn police station, followed by Ford.
Noticing Ford s glassy eyes, slurred speech and track marks along his arms, police held him for questioning. After admitting to injecting and possessing amphetamines police searched the cab of Ford s truck where they found nine small plastic bags containing amphetamines and seven syringes in a toiletries bag.
Ford pleaded guilty to driving a vehicle in a manner menacing, driving while under the influence of a prohibited drug, possession and self-administering a prohibited drug and failure to record particulars before driving. He will be sentenced today in Lismore Local Court.
Over to you guys Westy and Colin ……
Lyndal x
November 5th, 2008 at 5:28 pm
lyndal i think westy reasons explains it all if you want to believe every report that’s your choice but its also our right to defend ourselves and our industry against lies like this report and he has provided no evidence unlike the ones you posted which were police and court reports and i’m not saying they do not exist just that this one is crap
November 5th, 2008 at 11:18 pm
I confess right here that I treasure my friendship with Lyndal, at this point in time, as much as I treasure the thought of saving, even just one life, through CtoC, or any other means, and I dearly wish that friendship to continue.
Without wanting to be too melodramatic, although I can’t imagine any circumstances, where that friendship could be put to that test, I also confess that, NO, (zero), road related deaths, especially none involving heavy vehicles and especially no more that I have to witness, is a very precious thought.
Having said that, “Lyndal…, OUCH”!, but I can handle the hit.
I will try to be as gallant as I can here, and I certainly don’t want to incur her wrath, but, I must insist that Lyndal has not studied my reply or, as someone who is also familiar with that road, even to a lesser degree, she has failed to understand the extent of the errors/embellishments, in detail in Thomas’s account of the alleged events.
I will leave that for the jury.
Lyndal you have also missed the fact that I conceded that I have no doubt that Thomas had some sort of incident with an irate truck driver. As I said in my reply, it seems to me that Thomas has had more than one ‘encounter over the 25 years he claims to have travelled that road. Pill popping ‘truckies’, or even amphetamine crazed truck drivers, don’t just create these sort of incidents without a catalyst of some sort. (Remember previous discussions about perception). Even a Schizophrenic usually requires a catalyst to trigger ‘un-normal’ behaviour.
Any story with such ‘detail’ (embellishment), could only be the product of some sort of encounter and a vain attempt to invoke guilt on the other party, probably to justify, (camouflage), their own misgivings.
I have sought my wife’s view on this story, and, although I must, again, concede, that her opinion may be biased due to our relationship, (she says not), I feel it is worth reporting.
It was as follows, ” I feel Thomas has embellished the details to gain more credibilty for his side of the story. He is the injured party/blameless victim & inorder to strengthen this argument he has to make the other party more wrong/guilty for him to be totally without blame/right. Hence, the need for people to embellish or dramatise. That is not to say the incident did not occurr I believe there certainly was an incident of which Thomas was on the receiving end but he lost credibility by turning the whole thing into a movie script therefore casting some doubt on what really happened. Thomas should have stuck to the facts as best as he could recall them, he doesn’t have to make the truckdriver more wrong in order to make himself more right.” (Typographical errors Hers).
I also sought a friends opinion, one who also knows the area well as he spent some time living and working in the area as a field rep. Don’s reaction was, ‘…and he thinks by writing that, someone will believe it?”
Before I reiterate the inconsistances in Thomas’ story, I repeat that I have NO DOUBT that he experienced some form of incident, who’s fault, will probably, like the driver in question, remain unknown.
I must add that Thomas’ description of ‘pill popping truckies’ signalling him to overtake when there is an oncoming truck, indicates that there has been other incidents, again who’s fault will never be known without Thomas understanding our discussions on perception. (Strange that Thomas related ‘those’ incidences with very little apparent malice toward the ‘truckie’).
Unfortunately, to my mind, the amount of (flawed) detail that Thomas recalled, his actions when trying to evade the perpetuator, his lack of foresight or even logical action, even under duress, (surely someone in such grave danger would seek the company of the road workers, who were out at around 2:45 am, again by Thomas’ own recorded facts, and not flee the haven of apparent safety), and the fact that he could not outrun the truck over less than, by my estimation, around 15 kilometres, even with what I would reckon to be around 3 to 4 minutes head start. No wonder Thomas couldn’t get away from him on the open road. And this from someone who can leave Sydney at midnight and be in bed, North of Muswellbrook, some, conservatively, 280 kilometres away, and stop for petrol and to eat, in three hours! And his only crime on the night was to drive to the speed limit, because he didn’t want to lose any MORE points!
To come back to a first person conversation, Lyndal, I am sure that you know, by now, by our conversations and my comments and concerns, that I would never be so naive as to pretend these ‘drivers’ do not exist, (remember our private conversations regarding ‘a doola eighty five off skyline’), however, in this case, I must insist that Thomas’ account, so blatantly defies belief, that I just cannot give any creedence to it.
As much as you would accuse me of ‘leaping to the truckies defence’, and I am disappointed that you would think that I would do that without good cause, I would just point out to you, one, and I choose that one for a reason, inconsistancy in Thomas’ account, and that is that this scenario went on for over 30 minutes! Lyndal, we are not out in the back blocks of Arkansaw, here, you should remember well enough, and you do know the road well enough to know Blandford, (who else knows where Blandford is), to understand that at speeds of up to 40 kph over the speed limit, it would not take 30 minutes to travel from Bayswater to Muswellbrook, around 30 k’s, also there is, as far as Don and I can remember, no shopping centres where Thomas attempted to evade the truck by turning off the highway.
I chose that inconsistancy/error/embellishment, to remind you, and other readers about our discussions on perception. Now, had Thomas said, ‘for what seemed like 30 minutes’, but no, it was definitely “over 30 minutes”.
By the way, just rereading his account, I notice he, in fact, did have a phone. “000″!
Lyndal, I can only say to you, PLEASE, think over the area, you are familiar with it, and consider that allegations in light of the facts, and to every one else just get a map of the Upper Hunter area, and see if my estimates concur with Thomas’ account.
I will not pursue this post any further as it pains me to so publicly and vehemenently disagree with a Lady I hold so dear, but I only ask that you look at the facts with an open mind.
I am due to defend a matter, without representation, in the District Court, on Friday, I could only wish that my prosecutors witness would be so easily discredited.
While I am familiar with the reported incidents that you quote, Lyndal, and I am mortified that these incidences have occured, and, again, you know how I am agrieved that we have these ‘people’ on the road with us, I would again, at risk of being seen to ‘leap to the truckies defence’, point out that the second incident that you mention, is only ‘alleged’ and you must bear in mind that the truck driver was released pending further investigation. That would indicate to me that that driver was sober, straight and mental problems aside, in control of his faculties.
Note there is no mention of what may have occured prior to the incident. Maybe, again, there was something that the truck driver ‘percieved’, that set off a reaction, maybe, after such a vicious assualt with so much evidence, and strangely, no apparent witnesses, there was more to the story!
Let not hysteria, impede the WHOLE truth! (You can quote me on that one)!
With Love to Lyndal,
Cheers to all else
Westy
‘I make no apologies for the passion I hold,
for those I love,
for that which I believe,
for that which I enjoy.
For all else, I oppose you with the same passion’!
November 6th, 2008 at 6:10 am
Ok guys - point taken. It seems that what we have here is a situation involving a truckie with a BAD attitude and a motorist with a flair for sensationalism who could moonlight as a tabloid journalist. My comments were made in an effort to offer up the notion that sometimes we simply can’t/shouldn’t defend our “own” when it’s quite obvious the safety of others is of little revevance in the oversall scheme of things.
Westy, I do know that stretch of road well and yes, do concede that Thomas account of times and distances is certainly skewed. Having said that and having also been the victim of heavy vehicle road rage myself, it really does come down to a base level of focus on the situation at hand, once your fight/flight response kicks in.
Details like time, distance and even rego numbers cease to have relevance as you do your best to get yourself out of the danger you’ve found yourself in.
I firmly believe the national road safety hotline proposal I currently have in front of state, territory and federal ministers will provide the answers in cases like this one where the facts sit in a grey area.
Dangerous drivers like the one portrayed in this narrative will be caught in the net very quickly as other drivers report his antics throughout the course of his trip. Drivers like this fellow don’t carry out isolated acts of aggresstion, this type of behavior dominates their driving style.
IF however, Thomas’ account is “coloured” there would only be his report on file and so the truckie would rightfully slip through the net.
With white flag raised, with love BACK to Westy and with cap in hand to Colin who also obviously know the road, I acknowledge Thomas’ account of times/places etc does not stack up however I am inclined to believe - like you that yes he has been the victim of a serious road rage incident - the facts of which will never be fully known …..
kind regards Lyndal
November 6th, 2008 at 2:18 pm
Dear Lyndal and Westy;
Again, we are being educated by all of the above input; and I think that it teaches us all to look carefully into statements, rather than accept things as full facts, at face value. We know that there are aggressive drivers of Heavy Vehicles ‘out there’; a family member of ours had a couple of nasty experiences, which is police recorded. Westy and Colin do acknowledge that they exist and Thomas obviously had some sort of incident, the worry is that this driver was irate, perhaps due to exhaustion and frustration (hopefully not recieving taunting from the car driver!) Which comes back to fair treatment and managable hours.
It is a great thing to witness truckies stand together for fair and just principals and that should be encouraged. Those of us that dont drive the roads as often, would be a bit ignorent about times and places and distances and if an unfairness is seen against the truckie, it is only natural that the truck drivers would be upset. Thankfully there are gallent men and women in the Transport Industry ‘out there’ and they should be acknowledged. I imagine that truckies must get frustrated ‘with there own kind’ when the actions of these few, bring heavy criticism on those trying to be responsible.
Lyndal I am glad that the white flag is flying again and that you are back to loving Westy ‘most of the time’ as does Kerry Kare Bear
Take Care… Irene Baldwin
November 11th, 2008 at 12:33 pm
forget the truckies high on amphetemines!!!!!! confiscate what ever it is oour mate thomas here is on, for cryiing out loud!! anyway now that i have given in to temptation and been facecious how are we all, long time no talk, how are ya lyndal, chris nitro, scooter, westy, dave and anyone i may have left out unwittingly?
November 15th, 2008 at 5:37 pm
Hi all
finally got time off the road to sit and read some of the posts, and Rhonda steered me towards the Spielbergs story.I must say although riveting reading, much like a good novel really, my first reaction to this post was that someone was taking the piss out of lyndal’s site. In fact i was surprised that it even made it onto the site. All that said, the one that caught my attention,or at least stirred my emotions with similarities to a daily event that I encounter over here in the west, was the story about Christopher Ford, and the merging lane segment. A lot of intersections over here go from a single lane to two lanes at traffic lights, then back to a single lane once through. This is where things get exciting. For some reason a large number of motorists feel that they have to get in front of a truck no matter what. Ok lets set the scene now….my combination is a pocket roadtrain 27.5m, my gross weight with extra mass is 83tonnes, it takes time to get rolling, the speed limit on road in question is 70km/h, which I can just achieve before the lanes merge again,so its not as if I will be holding traffic up, however this does not stop idiots from trying to fit their cars into spaces not big enough for them forcing me to bleed off precious momentum to avoid a collision. An incident just yesterday saw one clown who was level with the tri’s on my dog trailer to continue to keep trying to pass me, even though i had run out of lane and was well into the merge, and no room in front of me between the next car even if he was successful. The end result was him forced onto the medium strip, me abused by him, even though i had no room to go anywhere to avoid it. This sadly happens everytime i am at this intersection, so it is not a one off scenario.
It just reinforces the need for driver education on how heavy vehicles respond, or more importantly can’t respond quickly in heavy traffic conditions, a thing that is grossly lacking here in the west at least.
Ok i’ll climb off my soapbox now that i have had a sook
Great site
cheers Neil
November 17th, 2008 at 3:59 pm
Neil
On the east coast, on the Pacific Highway, it is the other way around. When we get to an overtaking lane on the Pacific Higway, the trucks have to get in front even if the traffic is doing 100. You know the physics so should understand well that cars get run off the road here. Driver education indeed is needed. The difference is that the car drivers are literally forced off the road and lives put at risk by a 50 plus tonne vehicle doing 100+. Get you kids in the car and do a few trips between Port and Ballina and see if your families life is put at risk by some unprofessional truck driver.
November 18th, 2008 at 6:28 pm
Neil,
If a truck has caught up to a car before a passing lane doesn’t that mean the truck’s average speed along the highway is faster than the car? Usually I’ve found that when I’m following a truck that catches a car, the car is travelling at 85 to 90kph.
Surely common sense should prevail on a passing lane. Yes indeed, driver education is needed. If that truck has caught up and wants to get around shouldn’t you just use your bloody mirror before merging, and if you see he’s still trying to get around, back off and let him go. Is not using your mirror and not backing off to let a faster vehicle go any less dangerous than an unprofessional truck driver?
I go up and the highway quite often from Port to Coffs, sometimes towing a car trailer and I’ve found it only takes a second or two to back off, touch the brakes and let ANY vehicle pass that wants to. Sure is a lot less stressful than watching a frustrated driver tailgate me.
David (dj)
PS: If the severity of a fine reflects the seriousness of an offence, why is the fine for not displaying “P” plates ($190) more than double the fine for exceeding the speed limit by 6kph -yes 6kph- ($89). My son got done at 8.30pm at Algomera Road picnic area one Sunday night. They followed him so close he couldn’t see their headlights for 3km to Upper Warrell Creek Road before turning on their flashing lights and pulling him over. Pretty frightening for a kid by himself at night.
November 19th, 2008 at 9:44 am
Hi folks
Interesting story from Thomas Spielberg, and good follow-ups. I just wanted to make a few comments.
Neil mentioned one-two-one lane at traffic lights. On my rare trips to the ‘big smoke’ it’s great entertainment on the Brooker Highway into Hobart watching car drivers using the left lane to ovetake trucks right at the merge. Sure the car drivers are idiots, but its also a problem with the road engineers trying to create more vehicle capacity, but actually creating mayhem, because of well known human risky behaviour.
In a similar vein, I have trouble explaining to people who haven’t driven large vehicles, how one-two-one lanes through roundabouts (where you can go straight through in either lane) are also a problem because car drivers use them to overtake large vehicles, with crazy behaviour, as neil describes at the merge. If you look down on a plan of one, what you see is short overtaking lane on a reverse curve, and that’s so difficult with just side-mirrors on big vehicles. Oh and rain and night conditions did not deter cars from there behaviour.
Westy talks about triggers for dangerous behaviour, and AAMI have recently released a report on how much dangerous behaviour is ‘punishment’ for someone having something done to them first (or they perceive it that way). But (there’s always a but) - and I am prepared to swear to this on oath- there are many cases I can document where the only trigger is where someone is seen to be slowing up the progress of the perpretrator. I can go back 33 years to the guy who just sat blasting his car horn and drive directly at my motorcycle - with his wife and kids in the car, because I was on the speed limit. (there was NO other contributing behaviour from me). And last year a truckie tailgated very aggressively, not due to my behaviour, but because a car four in front was slowing, then speeding and holding up all of us. This truckie was so bad I phoned his employer, who acknowledged he had had to discipline him previously. Between these two incidents over thirty years apart, there have been countless others. And I have mentioned before about car drivers tailgating my bus, again because I was on the speed limit and they wanted to go faster.
And Westy - what an astute wife you have -great insight.
Hope these comments might be of interest.
And I look forward to Thomas’ next short story!
November 20th, 2008 at 9:49 pm
David (dj)
I think you have missed the crux of the example I have given, as I am not referring to overtaking lanes, but traffic lights, that go from one lane entering the lights, to two at the lights and back to one after. So the point I was making was idiots trying to get in front of a truck when no such room exists for them to do so, because immediatly in front of the truck is existing traffic. Most would agree that a car trying to pass a truck that is in the last phase of merging, ie run out of roadway,whilst level with the tri-axles of the dog trailer some 20m behind the front of the prime mover, really is a temporary foolish thing to do.
Cheers Neil
November 21st, 2008 at 9:51 am
I have been told in the past that amphetamines make you horny not angry. Possibly someone with PMS?? hahahaha sorry I shouldn’t make fun of poor Thomas the tank engine, the fat controller will have my gluteous maximus on a plate.
It’s all been said for me here…
Marty are you driving a Stratosphere for a company on the gold coast??
By the way I think I can make it official I start my new job on November 24th.
November 21st, 2008 at 8:47 pm
Neil,I’d go as far to say that the car driver had a wish…..a death wish.
Dave
November 28th, 2008 at 10:27 am
nah chris i used to drive a stratoshere for a bloke from lismore who subbies for the big red and white company. im now driving trains in western queensland for a company in roma. big trucker now haha