OFFICIAL CAMPAIGN LAUNCH TODAY!
Hi, my name is Lyndal Denny. Welcome to the COAST to COAST 100 website - the focal point of a new road safety campaign borne out of recent North Coast Community groundswell against dangerous, intimidating driving practices by a minority of heavy vehicle drivers on the Pacific highway. This morning from 9 a.m. Ballina Fair Shopping Centre will play host to the launch of this long-overdue road safety campaign that will enable both residents and visitors to FINALLY do something about the on-going problem of aggressive, intimidating behaviour by heavy vehicle drivers as they tailgate and speed through our north coast communities along the Pacific Highway.
From 9:30 a.m. A Current Affair staff will join us at Ballina Fair shopping Centre with a view to interviewing motorists in relation to traumatic incidents they have experienced involving heavy vehicles. Northern Star Journalists will be on-site from 10.00a.m. with the same objective. This then, is your invitation to come down and tell us YOUR stories, to sign our Petition lobbying the NSW Government to change current minimum distance requirements between trucks and cars and to purchase a rear windscreen label ($5) to let trucks on the highway know you are participating in this North Coast road safety campaign and will take certain steps if you are tailgated.
Letters have been sent to 100’s of trucking companies across the three eastern states advising them that NSW north coast residents are set to take mass action against intimidating driving behaviour by heavy vehicle drivers.
Locals are all too familiar with the dangerous/frustrating driving conditions on the Pacific Highway as it struggles to handle the dangerous mix of holiday traffic, local traffic and ever increasing numbers interstate freighters. Often, during peak holiday season, traffic will be gridlocked heading north just north of Byron Bay until the Yelgun Chinderra freeway begins. This situation will be compounded by heavy flows of traffic including 1000’s of semi trailers and B doubles heading south onto single lane highway.
Now the Brunswick freeway upgrade is complete - 8.6 kms at a cost of $259 million - that gridlock will move to south of the Bangalow straight where the highway remains predominantly single lane down past Grafton. These unsatisfactory road conditions further increase the frustrations of heavy vehicle drivers in their single minded pursuit to meet tight delivery schedules.
It would appear that a majority motorists have been and continue to be intimidated by the speed at which many of these heavy vehicles travel the highway and the amount of tailgating that is occurring, however it was not until North Coast communities came together to talk that the extent of the problem became evident.
With the freight task set to double by 2020, the problem will deteriorate even further unless action is taken now. Anticipated Federal and State funding injections will take years to materialize into dual carriageway highway so at this point in time we must focus on encouraging this minority of rouge truckies to drive responsibly in the interests of ALL who use the highway. Heavy vehicles are over-represented in crash statistics comprising 15% of traffic but being involved in 33% of fatalities on the Pacific Highway.
A greater Police presence on the highway has been touted as an effective means of addressing the issue however truckies openly admit to knowing the whereabouts of every police vehicle within a 200 km radius. Rogue drivers who are a law unto themselves slow their rigs and back off in the presence of Police. They will then resuming their bullying and intimidation when off radar leaving motorists both shaken and distressed.
CO.A.S.T. to CO.A.S.T 100 (Communities Against Semi’s Tailgating) offers motorist numerous strategies designed to expose and ultimately eradicate this “King of the Road” culture that has silently developed and is now accepted practice with some drivers. Whilst difficult to gauge, we estimate some 20% of heavy vehicle drivers present a very real risk to the lives of other road users. If you consider the fact that an estimated 14,000 drive through our area weekly, that’s an enormous amount of aggression motorists are facing daily.
Strategies include inviting motorists to share past tailgating experiences with COAST to COAST 100 staff with a view to identifying the main perpetrators, what contributing factors were involved, blackspots and high risk periods. We also ask motorists to closely examine their own driving behavior in relation to sharing the highway with trucks and ask professional truckies to work with north coast communities in policing and reporting cowboys. Rear windscreen labels alert truckies to the fact that right across the north coast of NSW, drivers are set to take mass action reporting dangerous, intimidating driving.
Motorists are also provided with a list of do’s and don’ts in the event of a tailgating incident and an alternate reporting mechanism through the new CO.A.S.T. to CO.A.S.T 100 website. Not only can they report the incident to Police, motorists now have the option of reporting it on-line. We anticipate profiles of serial offenders will begin to emerge as motorists report incidents through the CO.A.S.T. to CO.A.S.T 100 website. Coast to Coast staff will liaise with the trucking company involved however, if no satisfactory outcome is achieved, details will be released to the police and the media.
The Australian Trucking Association – peak industry body for the transport sector - has also been advised of this road safety initiative. CEO Stuart Sinclair was highly supportive of the COAST to Coast 100 initiative during a recent ABC radio interview conceding that there are issues on the Pacific with some trucking operators. Ideally COAST to COAST 100 staff would like to work with this body who – according to their website - accepts its responsibilities and is proactive in improving safety on the roads.
Mindful of the numbers of young lives tragically lost from our communities each year, one dollar from the sale of each label will be donated to north coast youth driver awareness initiatives. Community service organizations across the north coast are invited to participate in this fundraising opportunity also. Please contact Lyndal for more details by emailing lyndal@coasttocoast100.com.au or by going to the contact page.
July 10th, 2007 at 1:28 pm
Great idea if it stops truck drivers from intimidating drivers. How do I get a sticker?
July 14th, 2007 at 7:38 pm
Be careful ….. one photo, breach privacy act ….. see you in court ….. can you afford it?
July 16th, 2007 at 8:39 pm
Its interesting how a women is upset by the condition of the lismore ballina road, and appears to have decided to take it upon herself to adjust the speed limit to what she thinks is right. If she is not capable of maintaining a road speed that has been accepted by the authorities as being correct why is she on the road in the first place.
Secondly, correct me if i am wrong, but as far as i was aware EVERY driver, heavy vehicle or otherwise has entered a contract between themselves and the community.
I firmly believe that if the same rigorous attention were applied to car drivers as heavy vehicle operators, the number of car drivers would reduce dramatically.
It seems that once a person gets their car licence they can drive what ever speed THEY feel is right, sometimes towing extrodinarilly unsafe trailers or caravans, in vehicles that are, at times, suspect in their roadworthiness. And yet they have this pious attitude that car drivers can do no wrong. They should see it from our prospective sometimes. No wonder truck drivers hate driving on the Pacific Highway.
July 18th, 2007 at 3:02 pm
lyndal. why are you picking on truck drivers, we get abused everyday for the last 10 yrs since mike munroe started the war on truckies, and now ur starting it, give it a brake. and secondly u stopping on the pacific highway thats just suicide what happens if a b double came around the corner behind the tuck that u made stop and couldnt stop in time i know exactly where ur “inncident” happened if there was any. being a truck driver its mthe only job i know of that you get fined for going to work. Do u have a job?. if u do if u make 1 slight error in ur paperwork say u spelt a name wrong does ur boss take $600 out of ur pay each week? i dnt think so, seriously give it a break before we all say its enough and put australia on its head. if u remember a couple of months ago us truck drivers stoped on the qld nsw border and the nsw vic border no freight crossed the line it was a small blockade. now woolworth coles all the supermarkets struggled forfood there was no food in the shops. now there is talk of a 2 week blockade accross australia. i would be very carefull what u say or do on here or a current affair and expesially in the shoppuing centre where ur selling these stupid stickers that are useless idea. wow a sticker that says thank you for not tailgating. look i run from bris-syd-mel-ade-bris every week,. now its happened to me a hell lot of times ur behind a car thats doing 85 in a hundred zone i drive behind up close behind it so i can go around it faster with out causing an accident i wait for a double lines that are coming up ahead cos being a truck driver and all the other truck drivers have done this. when u first start driving trucks its ur apprentaship to know every road every corner ever town now i could sit here now and tell u every detail of the bris to melb road no worries, so when ni come behind a car thats slow i sit right up there ass so that when the double lanes come i overtake or i just overtake then on the single carrage way, but when i go to over take the slow car in the double lanes the car speeds up to 110 and im still getting momentium up so i can pass him bt he took off then when the lane goes back into 1 he or she slowd back down again. i really hope this blockade of ours happens really soon. i bet australia changes its attidude against truck drivers real quick. oh by the way if i see my picture of my truck on this web site u will have mi solicitor t ur front door the same night and u will be ordered to court. hope u can afford it.
from cameron. i hope u read that carefully and understand our point of view, over 25 years driving experence and thats just trucks. and my truck doesnt do 100km/h its ful noise about 150km/h i never go that fasyt i only sit on 110km/h only because the speed limit on that road is 110km/h its alrite for cars to do 110 so i can to. i know what my truck can and cant do and i know how long i need to stop ( distance). so bring it on. mke sure ur cupboard and fidge is well stocked up cos whod know when this block ade is gonna happen.
from scooter good bye
July 18th, 2007 at 11:00 pm
ione photo that i see of my truck or anyones i know. u wil lhave my barrastor at ur front door the same day its on here. breacjh of privacy when u put someones vehicle with a numberplate attached without owners permission. hope u can afford it,. maybe u should stop and reconsider ur “little” campain. see u in court. plus ive coppied all these comments on ur website. its called harrasement love. and since the website is in ur name and ur responsibe for it,. ill be seeing u in court. good bye,.
July 19th, 2007 at 5:43 am
I think it’s a great idea. I do a lot of travelling around the country and am sick and tired of the bullying tactics of the cowboy truckies on our roads. Here’s hoping the rest of the country picks up on the idea.
July 21st, 2007 at 8:26 pm
Scooter, you can copy all comments to your little hearts content,it is not harassment.I think you watch too many TV shows.I hope you can spell your solicitors name. What is coming out of this website is reasonable comment from both sides of the fence.I really can’t understand where you can say that your truck doesn’t do 100 kmh it’s full noise about 150 klmh then go on to state that you travel at 110 kmh when it is road signed. Do not use intimidation of truck blockages because as of late last year over 100 Local Authorities[Councils/Vic/NSW/Qld]]agreed that the Federal Government proceed with the Inland Rail from Melbourne to Brisbane ASAP. This Inland route would bypass Sydney and most truck logged routes with a possibility of a further extension to Darwin.Comments made include truckies admitting that they had tight schedules and long distances to travel, unscrupulous companies making unfair demand on drivers or owner/operators. This is a major issue and it is pushing heavy vehicle drivers/owners to take greater risks. Long hours,not enough rest this is why we have laws pertaining to log books. Truckies in a way brought these laws to bear upon themselves because they cannot control their own industry just as we have Traffic regs governing all motorists. Your argument that ‘without trucks Australia stops” is one that I’ve heard before. The trucking industry enjoys a subsidy on fuel that is why at present it is cheaper than rail but this is rapidly changing as a major rail competitor enters the equation. Good on you people,keep the comments coming and maybe[and I mean maybe]the Emergency Services in all States will not have to continually pick up the pieces. Go to work,return home to your families safely, that is what life is all about. Drive on Scooter,mate.
July 22nd, 2007 at 10:17 pm
Thank God someone is finally pushing this issue! We recently drove up the north coast at night as it is much easier with a couple of little kids asleep rather than awake for such a long drive. We could not believe the crazy driving of the big trucks and especially the powerful B-doubles. Sitting on the speed limit on cruise control the whole way at night shouldn’t be so bloody scary. We had over 10 trucks come up on us sometimes over the speed limit and sometimes while we were driving behind a train of slower vehicles in an area unsafe or illegal to overtake and then sit meters off out back bumper to try and intimidate us over the limit or into unsafe overtaking. I hated it and could not believe that truckers so callously use their vehicles as ram rods when the cost of a mistake is death (for the car passengers that is). As they are on the road so much more than we are (and hence the probabilities of an accident higher), I assume that it is due to pressure or greed to get from A to B in a time that does not allow for safe driving practices, exhacerbated by plain tiredness / lack of energy or patience to drive well.
July 22nd, 2007 at 11:01 pm
yeh mate i agree my truck which i own and drive my self. does do 150km/h wanna know why because its not speedlimited it was made before 1990. and yes i do sit on 110km/h if a car can sit on 110 why cnt trucks. if uve got an experenced driver at the wheel its alot safer then having a young bloke who thinks hes top shit put him behind the wheel of a 600hp engine and he has no idea how to handel it. it all comes with experence david, that extra 10k’s help mate keeps the traffic moving and actually saves fuel but what do i know. im just a truck driver whos been around for a long time remeber… mmm. so david as i agree with ur comments totally just lay off it mate. im just having my say, so have urs and move back to the real subject. trucks AND cars stupidity on the road. so dnt come back and say im the stupid 1 on the road cos as ive said b4 if i was stupid on the road i would not be here now, and more or less i wouldnt be driving for 25 yrs in a truck and NEVER hand an accident neither a near miss. ive witnessed accidents involving trucks and cars and yes it is not a pretty sight but whats that sayin such is life. im ot meaning for that to sound mean but yeh, sry to anyone who got offended by that i am sorry but yea people come ppl go sorry, and yes david ive witnessed ambulance offices picking up pieces and coming out to an accident seen where all thats left is a head. its not to pretty sight i no. so david take care and might see you out on the road one day hopefully not in a bad way (touch wood)
take it easy and lets focus on wat we are here for and what lyndal set up for
scooter
July 23rd, 2007 at 3:40 am
I doubt if using rail is going to be as effective as you think, it’s not only price that is making trucks the better option, its also the fact that freight can be transported from melb-syd over night and melb-bris inside 2 days, i cant see the current rail network being able to do this, infact even if they build a new rail network by the time they stop in all the towns along the way they may be able to keep up with the trucks getting to brisbane but not to sydney, also add in the price (and time) of container hire, plus someone to load it then the truck to take it to the rail yards and then do it all over again at the other end it would take a lot longer than putting it on a truck, there will be some freight that will be put on the trains but if you have ever worked in the transport industry you would know that everyone wants there freight yesterday, just to name some of ppl, tnt, toll, star trak, australia post, plus a hundred other companies who have contracts to transport perishable’s interstate overnight, rail will meet the needs of some freight but as long as people want everything now it want make a big difference.
The best you can hope for is that it ease’s the pressure of the driver shortage we have at the moment and companys will have a better quality of driver applying for jobs.
There is a solution needed but this site isnt it, all you are doing is putting truck drivers on the defensive and that in its self will cause problems.
And just in case some one has explained it to you yet, the reason i truck has to leave 60mtrs behind the truck in front of them is because we can not see around him up close, how ever we can see over 20 or more cars, and the reason you push for this law will not work(even in the slim chance it does go into force) is what happens when a truck leaves a 60 mtr gap and a car pulls into it, do you expect us to slow down and leave another 60 mtr gap for some one else to pull into, you can leave a 20 mtr gap and someone will still pull in front of you, and of course they will get up set if you dont back off, i dont expect you to understand this lyndal as in my experience 80% of the time it is women that do it, you need to go back to the drawing board, examine all facets in all situations and then you will understand, much like the politicians do that it is not as clear cut as you report it to be, as i said before there needs to be a solution but the 60 mtr law is not the one and will be near on impossible to enforce.
July 25th, 2007 at 10:13 pm
Hi.
As an experienced truck driver for over 27 years or more accident free. I would just like to have my say, now why don’t you people talk to the government of nsw, QLD and tell them about how Perth have got their transport set up in the suburb of Kew dale. In Kew dale there is a HUGE transport depot where the b-doubles, b- triples and triple road trains come in. back up to the unloading dock. Pad where ever unload their freight and reload and drive away. and the freight is then taken away by smaller trucks like 6 tonners or 12 tonners to retail stores and or supermarkets, now say if we decided to black label all deliveries in the ballina region like lismore,casino,byron bay, lenox heads what would all you people in that area do for food and clothes and all ur daily needs?, im not in for it though but t o be honest with you people there is talk of all of that black labeling stuff until this website is closed down and truckies are given a fair go. and im happy doing what im doing. I drive according to the law and take my rest breaks when I have to, BUT lyndal u are suggesting for us to leave a 60metre gap between other heavy vehicles that we are following. Now lyndal Ur telling us to break the law. so when we get fined for leaving a 60 meter gap can we send u the fine cos YOU told us to leave a 60 metre gap. now if u do not understand where i am coming from i suggest u search the internet for some information on trucks and the guidelines for driving one. now if you a driving a semi trailer or a b double that is on a b double or roadtrain route you are required to leave a gap of 200metres,. now i do this every time on the roads i keep a safe distance that i feel is safe between cars in front of me and when i am about to overtake them i give a flash of the highbeam to let them no i am coming around them. not to scare them but to warn them. We all use to do that back 20-30 years ago and us old school drivers still use that technique. I am deffently not one of these cowboys you’s are referring to i am a professional truck driver and obey every law there is for trucks. i have not had an infringement fine for over 5 years. because i follow the law. and yes i am on express most of the time. but i will not break the law. maybe 20 years ago when revenue against trucks wernt even heard of where we were left alone to do our own thing yes no lie i was speeding to get a move on but these days its just not worth speeding. now on to scooter. mate i have read every single comment you have written and every single one is dead correct. now if only we could get more of us old school truckies together to make our own petition. just people please move on. we ourselves will sort out the cowboys who think they are top shit. Fresh out of deca or mt cotton and hop straight into a 600hp western star only to have no on road experience and only to roll the truck a few hundred kilometers from home. Because on lack of experience. now car drivers please treat truckies with respect we are only here to do our jobs. if only you’s could see it from our point of view. i will be leaving more comments on this website until you’s see our point of view,
kind regards
from mick.
July 26th, 2007 at 10:16 pm
Scooter,mate, I was thinking of Slims great song - I’d love to have a beer with Scooter cause scooters me mate! I didn’t mean any offence and no offence taken.
A lot has been learned from both sides,it’s getting a bit crowded on these roads. Don’t particularly like the 60 mt gap being put up I think it would lead to more mishaps.
Dave