Did I do the right thing?

On Saturday night approx 10PM I was driving up the Calder towards Bendigo when a B Double turned onto the Highway in front of me. It was safe when he did this 1Km in front of me. He was slow reaching 100Km/h but I was patient and waited until I reached an overtaking lane. I wasn't in a hurry and besides there would be no point in flashing him etc and I didn't. We all have to share the roads.

I left him miles behind me until I hit the next town when he caught up to me. Here I was doing 70Km/h in a 60 Km/h zone with a B Double sitting less than 3m behind me. I stuck to the 70 (10K’s over) and then he started flashing his headlights. Reminded me of the Duel Film. I couldn’t pull over as is was a narrow road with nowhere to pull off. He couldn’t overtake because of double lines.

I politely asked him on Ch40 CB if I had done something to upset him. He used language that indicated to me he was a gynecologist! He had a 63 Tonne load and &*%#s like me should &*$@#^& off the &$#@%* road you %$#@@&ing ^%$^&*. I explained (without swearing) that maybe the speed limit was unreasonable but I didn’t want to get fined for speeding. #$%^ !@@#$$ off you @##$ ##@ was the response. I told him the limit was 60 and I was doing 75 at this time. @#$@#$ *#$@#%%^.

I ignored him and shortly after turned off the highway towards Castlemaine.

It wasn’t as if I slammed on my brakes in front of this bloke, he chose to ignore the speed limit more than myself and caught up with me over a distance of 1Km.

I am not the type of person who thinks he should limit the speed of all other road users by hogging the road. I understand a bit about trucks and braking and taking a run at steep hills etc. I do hold a Heavy Rigid drivers licence but I do not drive trucks for a living.

Should I have baited him? I was almost going to but then thought that stirring up this head case could make him endanger other road users.

Should I contact the company he works for? I have the name of the transport company. Do companies take the word of a stranger and occasional road user over that of their “professional” drivers who spend all their time on the road?

Should I have travelled at a speed that suited this bully driver and risked my licence because “he had 63 Tonne on board”?

Ring his company! We cant afford to have these d###heads on the road. Just recently up my way we had a truck run into the back of a car and pushed it off the freeway killing a young boy. The truck driver didn't even bother to stop.
A couple of weeks before that our accounts lady was one of the victims of the truck than rammed through about 35 cars killing one person and smashing the wrist of our lady. Apparently over 160 people have been called to appear as witnesses.
You may feel that it's not the Aussie way to dob someone in, but look at it this way - would you want him driving behind your wife and kids.

Ring up his company.
But they probably won't do anything, but at least you have tried!

On the radio this morning there was a report that on the spot drug testing started at 11 am today. The 4th driver tested positive to drugs.
Maybe the truck driver uses them too!
If the VIC tests show high figures its probably only a matter of time before there is Oz wide drug testing

In a perfect world you would ring the company or the cops and the guy would have his license revoked and never be allowed behind the wheel of one of those monsters again. He was probably speeding - and I don't mean 70 in a 60 zone, I mean illegal pharmaceuticals.

I've had heaps of run-ins with these idiots on the Hume and Federal highways. They are so blasé about speed because they spend all their working lives on the road. They don't mind pulling out in front of you but are the first to get on the air horns and drive up your asre if you do it to them.

My cousin is a truckie. We have this argument all the time. He gives me that line about keeping up speed to get up the hills, the time it takes to get up to speed again if you have to stop or slow down etc. I say none of that matters, you shouldn't be driving like that and tell it to the family that loses a family member because you were worried about losing momentum or missing a deadline.

It's tough being a truckie, long hours, tight deadlines. At the end of the day though, you're the one in control of the truck and responsible for the mayhem you cause if you stuff up. I'm sure there are polite and conscientious truckies out there - my cousin is probably one of them - but they are few and far between in my experience.

You did the right thing. Some truckies (not all) use the sheer might of their vehicles, along with drugs and anything else they have consumed, to intimidate motorists. I had an experience with a cowboy on the Coorong (between Meningie and Kingston) a couple of years ago, semi and trailer with no load. There was no way he was going to let me overtake, he swerved off the road numerous times at speeds of up to 130kph and broke my windscreen. Eventually (it took about 10 kms) I got past him and was set to report him to the police in Kingston, except my dearest in the passenger seat (and Ops Manager for a transport Company) said let him go. I wrote to the trucking Company in Mt Gambier, no answer, waste of time, but got it off my chest. On Adelaide radio this morning there have been discussions on this very subject and one caller suggested ringing ahead to the police in the next town. Generally, Aussies are not dobbers, but how else are we going to eliminate the "I own the road" attitude of some heavy vehicle drivers.

I think you did the right thing Borer, you can't and shouldn't pick a fight with someone driving a 63 tonne truck up your asre, especially an asrehole like this guy.

I'm the last one to support dobbing but it's absolutely the right thing to do with these truck drivers, there seem to be more incidents being reported recently, although I'd guess they were happening before just not reported.

I think it's the Linfox? trucks that have a 1800 number on the back you can call if you're concerned about how a truck is being driven, maybe these should be made compulsory for all trucks.

Phoning ahead to the local cops is a good idea also, if they're as serious as they say they are about calming the truckies down then they'll respond. Make sure it's your passenger making the call though as driving whilst on a mobile is something else that should be punished.:mad:

HH.

I've worked in Distribution most of my working days. I have a lot of time for most of the guys working the trucks - they are a great bunch of blokes generally and will turn on the rogues if you let them know. ;)

Funny that Tikki, I loaded a 2 1/2 tonne fork lift on that Mt Gambier companies truck in Melbourne to take it to Adelaide. I never saw it again. :eek: :eek: :eek: :mad:

It got lost :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :mad:

The more I see these days the more I agree with the signature seen on here
"99% of @#$#@#$ give the others a bad name." :rolleyes:

Jamie

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Originally Posted by barnsey

The more I see these days the more I agree with the signature seen on here
"99% of @#$#@#$ give the others a bad name." :rolleyes:

Jamie

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Got to agree with you there Jamie, do the truckies have any ideas how this problem could be tackled? If not then they may be adveresly impacted by legislation or peoples attitude generally towards truckies. I'd imagine it would be good PR for the truckies to be seen to be trying to fix the problem themselves.

HH.

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they are a great bunch of blokes generally

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The point to be made there is that when they are not behind the wheel this is generally true. As soon as they get behind the wheel of a B Double with a 63 tonne load they turn into sociapathic lunatics. The same thing happens to a lot of people when they get behind the wheel of a car (see what happened on the weekend in Glebe). The only difference is that a truck can do a hell of a lot more damage than a car. Professional drivers should act like professionals or find another career.

The ones that I've talked to generally say that it is guys who are put on and will do anything to earn cash at the sake of safety. They are the desperates and the truckies don't like them on their side of the highway either!! :eek: :mad:

Alas they only find the ones who do it to them and that results with an even worse attitude or off the road temporarily till the injuries recover :eek:

I believe WB should report the incident to the authorities, but I think a word in the ears of the good ones down at the local truck stop is probably a better option. ;)

Darwin's theory of evolution still has a lot going for it!! :rolleyes:

Jamie

Depending on the company what happens to the driver when he is reported, some treat it as a warning - too many and your out, others ignore it.

If police recieve a number of calls about erratic or dangerous driving they will respond quickly. Just one call and you might be looking at a follow up visit or call (if the jacks are bored).
FWIW this is my experiance and each cop / station / region will differ

I drive a car a fair bit on the highways and I think the attitude of the truck drivers has improved significantly over the past 30 years.

I find most them pretty good but there is the cowboy element amongst a small number which give the rest a bad name.

I have found the Road Train drivers in SA and QLD on the outback tracks particularly good. They slow down, for you, call you up on the radio and tell you to move to the other side of the road so you don't eat their dust, tell you the road conditions ahead - I haven't met a bad one yet.

I must get all the nut bars then.... :rolleyes:

I've driven the highway between Sydney and Coffs Harbour a few times over the last two months and I've seen one almost every trip, seems to be worse at night......

you don't argue with someone bigger than you ... its not worth it.

you should report him. he's in the wrong and dangerously so. Even if nothing happens as a result you've tried. You might get a better response than you expect. e.g. Yarra Valley Trams will take up a complaint with a tram driver and get back to you. There is a particular junction near me where Trams seemed to regularly go through the lights on red despite them having a clear view of the junction from a long way off.

One day they are going to strawberry jam a kid on their way to school who is watching the green man and not watching for trams. Every time I see it happen I take the number, direction and time and contact the company. Since I started doing this the number of "jumpers" at this particular junction appears to have decreased. If that makes me a dobber then so be it but I'd rather that read all about some incident in the local paper.

Whilst we may think it is un Australian to dob someone in to the authorities it is also very un Australian the way that truckdriver was driving. So this feeling is cancelled out by that truckie.

I would report it, if only in the hope that it will stop that driver from doing it to someone else and cause a serious accident.


Peter.

The worst are the ones on the major capital routes - time sensitive pressure.
and bosses who just want it there on time. The outback ones are under less pressure because people accept the distances travelled better. The average punter in a capital city just doesn't realise the distance between Brisbane and Cairns or Darwin and this adds to the performance pressure from their customers. I know that sounds a little mixed up but the pressure comes from client expectation. They put it on a truck and expect it to get there in the same time it takes them to fly. :rolleyes:

These guys are on a no win to a hiding no matter what they do. The good carriers maintain their service standards - the ones who don't try everything they can to compete and the spiral keeps declining. Hence the good carriers tend to be on the main routes and the second tier on the minor routes - there are good drivers on both but the pressure for under performers occurs on the prime routes mostly. The prime routes are daily the others less frequent depending on volume. ;)

Not sure that would make any sense to anyone but it's all a case of demand and supply. :confused:

Jamie

Another topical Forum thread. Finger on the pulse...

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Originally Posted by SMH 13/12/2004

Container trucks will be hit with a levy to push more freight onto trains under a sweeping State Government strategy, but it will not be enough to prevent the number of semi-trailers on Sydney's roads doubling to almost 2 million within six years.

Cabinet papers seen by the Herald reveal trucking operators could face a levy of about $30 per container - and even higher charges depending on the roads they use and the times they travel - to pay for $2 billion in new roads, freight-handling facilities and train lines.

The Government wants to lift rail freight from Port Botany from 23 per cent to 40 per cent by 2011. But, if current patterns continue, the cabinet papers show that 3 million six-metre containers - referred to as 20-footers in the industry - will be carted on streets by 2021, a 300 per cent increase on current rates.

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Originally Posted by SMH 13/12/2004

A NSW government plan to introduce a levy on heavy vehicle freight could cripple the industry, unions and a peak trucking body warned today.

NSW Planning and Infrastructure Minister Craig Knowles today announced the first stage of the government's Port Freight Plan for Sydney.

It would include a levy for container trucks in a bid to encourage the delivery of more of the state's freight by rail.

The levy would be used to fund a $2 billion upgrade to state freight transport.

But the Australian Trucking Association and the Transport Workers Union have opposed the levy although they welcome attempts to improve freight infrastructure.

"We think it's important that the government of NSW establish a freight infrastructure advisory board of the like they're talking about to discuss the issues of freight demand and how they're managed within NSW," said association chief executive Chris Althaus.

"But taking an approach of simply applying a levy to the trucking industry is highly simplistic and won't achieve what is needed (and) a much more broadly-based solution is required."

Mr Althaus said the trucking industry could not afford to pay a levy.

"They (the government) could make the levy double that amount if they wanted to, but the reality is those charges will be passed on to exporters, to manufacturers and ultimately to consumers."

The trucking industry was not to blame for roads choked by freight.

"The level of vehicles on the road is simply a reflection of our economic growth," he said.

The trucking industry was of extreme economic importance to Australia with transport, storage and logistics accounting for about three to four per cent of GDP, he said.

According to the union, the government should collect any levy on freight containers from the importers themselves.

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Being a transport economist this is right up my alley. We have some heavy vehicle dynamics modelling software here that can be quite terrifiying. It demonstrates (to our customers) just how easy it is for a truck to get out of control and jack knife. The amount of trailer "sway" that happens above 100km an hour is truly frightening.

After seeign our guru's presentation, I stay well away from water tankers (half empty ones slosh around) and most importantly, hay trucks. If you see a truck loaded high with hay be very careful when you pass it, one gust of wind. Luckily the standards for trucks are beign changed to a performance rather than an axle weight basis which should outlaw those light but towering death traps.

Unfortunately trucks are here to stay. As much as governments are trying to get freight onto rail, it will only ever reduce the growth in trucks, never reverse it. The real 'clogging' element on our roads is not trucks. It's 'white vehicles'. That is, small 3tonne delivery trucks, courier vans, and utes. For every truckload of goods, it takes 40 white vehicles to distribute.

Now, lets talk about truckies. The idea that they have to work 16 hours a day to make a living is ********. The average truckies can earn up to $100k per year doing interstate or LD work. The fact is that young guys dont want to do it. So theres a limited number of truckies and a growth in freight. Who is more wealthy, the truckie who never sees his family but earns $100k per year or the public servant that works 8-4:30 and earns 50k per year?

I used to wonder why most truckies seemed to be idiots - then I realised that if they had any brains, they wouldn't be truckies.

Reporting this guy to his company will probably be a WOFTAM. You need to report him to the police, and make it clear that if necessary you will go to court as a witness, and that you will follow up. Otherwise, unless they catch him themselves, nothing will happen. They can't do anything if you aren't prepared to be a witness.
If you report him you should make a formal statement, and if nothing happens, you need to follow up - a letter to your local pollie is a good start - as some police are too lazy to do anything. A common excuse is that even if it goes to court he'll probably get off. That's crap. As a cyclist, I made a policy of reporting deliberate or repeated harrassment, and in every case that went to court, the offender copped a fine. But in some cases I had to stir up the pollies (& in one case, internal investigations) before anything happened.

That's not a rant against the police, as in most cases they acted quickly & professionally, but you do need to know what to do if they aren't.

Rob,

Yes, call the company.

And as has been mentioned, call 000 at the time. The traffic boys love it when a truck plays up. You will get a response almost certainly, particularly if the circumstances are the same as you have stated. It is a serious danger to others on the road. He has brakes on his truck and he had plenty of time to use them. Carrying 63t is only an excuse for the red light cameras.

Dan

I quite like some of the vehicles of a certain Telco company that speed and weave their way through the freeway traffic. I know that 75% or more of the vehicles on the freeway are doing the same thing ... but they dont have a sticker on their bumper that says they support safe driving :rolleyes:

just wondering if he gose to police and says that he was doing 70 klms in a 60 zone would he not be indicting himself in a crime as well ?

they might understand the reason why he was speeding ( because of the semi ) but he has also admitted to breaking the law ?

so wouldnt he be booked as well ?


jsut like top stir things up and see what replys this gets

merry christmas to all

david

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Originally Posted by HappyHammer

I've driven the highway between Sydney and Coffs Harbour a few times over the last two months and I've seen one almost every trip, seems to be worse at night......

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I never saw ya!

Peter R.http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com...ons/icon10.gif

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Originally Posted by Peter R

I never saw ya!

Peter R.http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com...ons/icon10.gif

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I was the blur to your right..:D