Mustering causes accident

[turboplanner]

Two good scenarios HITC; given the "Oh Sh!t, we're in trouble now" body language from the girl with the horse as she surveys the damage at the front of the truck, I'd say the former.

 

 

[Riley]

Wot a stuffup, on the part of the pilot/ground crew.Iv dun plenty of mustering across highways, and im always on uhf40 coz the rubbernecks and trucks are on same.

Wen you see traffic comen, warn your crew if you have any, the driver will usualy hear and respond without even talkn to them.

 

If you have no crew, try talkn to the driver, if theres no responce and its likely they are go,n to collide, buzz the basterd till he does.

 

And that time of day you see their lights comn for miles.

 

Visability in the air is much better than on the ground, specialy with the dust and on comen lights.

 

The truck had no chance, down hill, no warning and buggerall visability. ( the rate the comp break was slown him, id say it was an unladen train.)

 

The clown in the air is the one who should have called, and his crew,( FWs always need a crew) shoulda been on the road both sides.

 

Obviously not a cattleman run,n that show.

 

No wunder the rest of the population think we are just a bunch o whingers. :(

Is that OzBirdy from Indiana?

 

 

[OzBirdy]

It dont make any difference why the weaners were gallopn across the road that time of day.

 

Late start with the job, balls up by pilot or crew, they just blew out of a yard, tryn to do too much in one day, retreaving them out of a fenced road,... sh1t happens on a dayly basis in agriculture, but the simple fact they were pushn cattle over a public HW without any regard for the consquences of traffic is irrisponsable.

 

Whoever was responsable needs his ass kicked.

 

 

[facthunter]

There's a lot of the Sturt Highway north of Alice Springs unfenced. Especially with the new speeds I don't think that's a good idea. I don't really think the high speeds are a good idea anyhow.. When you have a prang it's going to be a big one. Nev

 

 

[Geoff13]

Keep commenting please armchair experts. Obviously 1 or 2 of the posters may have been in a truck before, even more obvious that most haven't.

 

 

[Guest Andys@coffs]

Geoff

 

As a trucker, what's your take on it? I'm interested in hearing

 

Andy

 

 

[facthunter]

Goeff 13 Are you including me as an armchair expert? If you have a problem with some why not be specific? Nev

 

 

[Bruce Tuncks]

i HATE how the Stuart highway has become fenced with the fence so close to the the road. It could have had a decent space between the road and the fence, but no. Its mucked it up i reckon.

 

 

[Geoff13]

There's a lot of the Sturt Highway north of Alice Springs unfenced. Especially with the new speeds I don't think that's a good idea. I don't really think the high speeds are a good idea anyhow.. When you have a prang it's going to be a big one. Nev

 

Goeff 13 Are you including me as an armchair expert? If you have a problem with some why not be specific? Nev

No I wasn't, your comment appeared to be a generalised comment and whilst I don't really agree with the increased speeds not being a good idea I do agree with the part about a prang at higher speeds being likely to be more serious.

 

Whilst I am not advocating higher speeds for trucks, I do think there are powerful arguments for higher speeds for smaller vehicles. I do not think however that excess speed was a factor in to accident depicted in the OP so your comment although valid and reasonable, did not really refer to the OP.

 

 

[Geoff13]

My take on the video.

 

Irrespective of weather the mustering should or should not have been being conducted at that time or not, the accident could still have been avoided.

 

Obviously had the cattle not been there no accident no problem.

 

Likewise had the truck not been there no accident no problem.

 

Thirdly had there been signage there would have been less likelyhood of as the truckie would have been forwarned and believe it or not they give serious consideration to those warnings on the open road

 

It was not really dark, more dusk/twilight. Visibilty to the sides on the downhill run was natural light so it wasn't full dark. In QLD at least stock are to be off the road 1 hour before dusk in almost all cases.

 

An aircraft flying that low over a road is so unusual that I have never seen one in over 5 million klms. It would have been an immediate distraction and I believe the jakes and likely the service brakes came on within normal reaction time of him identifying what the aircraft was. I say the service brakes as well becuase Jakes alone would not have slowed him down that quickly.

 

The drivers reaction to move to the wrong side of the road which commenced before the braking was between when he sighted th A/C and when he identified what it was, he was trying to widen his angle of vision to the corner to see what it was blinking infront of and above him.

 

The clincher then and the largest contributer to the accident is the car on high beam. In my opinion he was to far away to have spotted the cattle, he had done one of two things,

 

A. He was driving on high beam when at dusk he would had far better vision on low beam. Or

 

B. He had seen the aircraft or dust and hit the highbeams to have a better look. The flashing we see is indicative of him hit bumps and the lights bouncing not of flashing high/low.

 

The high beam almost certainly blinded the driver before they blinded the camera.

 

The truckie had already reacted and applied almost maximum brake well before he ever saw the cattle thanks to good reactions, and no thanks to being blinded by oncoming traffic. Not only that but he never overreacted once he did spot them. A swerve in either direction on a sweeping corner under maximun brakes and going downhill would have meant an almost certain rollover or jacknife.

 

The second voice is almost certainly a twoup driver who was most likely asleep in the bunk because by his reaction he saw nothing. Almost all trucks that are running twoup through there would be loaded not empty.

 

I would give the truckie a job. I think he handled an almost impossible situation admirably.

 

 

[OzBirdy]

Pretty much spoton Geoff.

 

Only i thought it sounded like an empty train by the comp break sound.

 

Absolutly nuthn he could have dun better.

 

Once he saw what bout to happen, just keep it streight.

 

And ol mate in the bunk woke up in a hurry. ;)

 

Wen your on low beam and theres anatha car comen, even if he,s on low beam, you still dont see sh1t, unless you see the shadows run across his lights.

 

But the truck wouldnt have seen shadows coz he,s too high.

 

Just like flying, you cant miss wot you cant see.

 

 

[Old Koreelah]

...and let's ban bloody black livestock! At least you could see those Droughties!

 

 

[turboplanner]

...and let's ban bloody black livestock! At least you could see those Droughties!

"African American" livestock please.

 

 

[OzBirdy]

Ditto on that, baldies rearly get hit.

 

I hit one near boulia a couple months ago, ( african american type) didnt see a damn thing, just felt it kamakzi into the trailer at full klick.

 

 

[kaz3g]

I have to make an exception for them, the Hume Highway was known as Sesami Street.The brakes all changed with ADR35, you don't have a hand piece now, just the foot brake and park brake. DECA trains drivers to look ahead and come down in speed in the higher gears over a longer period to save fuel

I guess it has been a long time, Turbs... I got my artic endorsement in the early 70's on a C1800 with a wooden pole jinker and 60 litre oil drums mounted over the jinker back axle. The last really big rig I drove was our mailman's Volvo with 3 trailers and that would have been about 1978. It seems like just the other day, too <sigh>

 

kaz

 

 

[Pilot Pete]

You don't slam your brakes on for nobody on a road train. No control once those brakes lock on. Try it in a car with a loaded trailer behind you and see what it's like to steer.

 

 

[market]

Driving in the middle of the road gives the greatest chance of missing wild life with a trajectory likely to intercept yours. The view from the drivers seat of a truck is much greater than that of a car or SUV. This is in an area where at times you may not see another vehicle for an hour or more. The engine starts to wind down when he sees the car lights. He is going slow to start with. Listen for diff whine, tyre noise, it's not there, my thought is that it isn't going more than 80 ks an hour, if that, and he is doing maybe 40 when he hits them. They don't even knocks his lights out. Can you see them before it's too late? Bet the truck driver couldn't either. Most likely damage to the Kenworth was nil. Regulations are that cattle should be off the road before dusk. Also signs at both ends to warn drivers. However, in all fairness, the Coolah fence or some other fence may have got knocked down and these Weaner types got onto the road, maybe the ringers were at the end of a shitty day and it got worse quickly. Ps, Mills transport and Lindesay Bros didn't use Jacob's brakes in their Kenworths and Louivilles.