New inquiry call after near freeway disaster
The trucking industry wants a joint industry and government investigation into crashes on the South Eastern Freeway following a near-catastrophe involving a 40-tonne truck on the freeway yesterday.
SA Police safely guided the truck down the freeway and across the Glen Osmond Road, Portrush Road and Cross Road intersection late yesterday morning after officers spotted smoke billowing from the truck.
Two officers travelling in the other direction quickly contacted traffic management so lights at the intersection could be turned green.
The truck, which was carrying heavy mining equipment, was escorted through the intersection by police and was able to stop safely on Glen Osmond Road.
Police allege the truck had oil in its air tanks, causing its brakes to malfunction.
The 32-year-old Victorian truck driver was reported for driving without due care and regulatory offences.
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President of the SA Road Transport Association (SARTA) Sharon Middleton said an investigation into road crashes on the freeway over the past three to five years should be collectively launched by trucking industry representatives, SA Police, the Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure (DPTI), SafeWork SA and the RAA.
“We would need to get together, get all the facts together and then that way as a group of people we could discuss the results of the investigation and come up with some solutions,” she said.
“We need to understand what went wrong.”
Middleton said SARTA would review driver accreditation schemes to see whether further compliance measures were needed to improve safety on the road.
She reaffirmed the industry’s call for a third arrester bed to be constructed towards the end of the South Eastern Freeway.
SARTA will meet with Road Safety Minister Tony Piccolo to discuss this and other proposals next Tuesday.
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Picollo said it was vital that all truck drivers obey the road rules along the freeway.
“I want to take the opportunity to remind all transport operators and drivers that it is imperative that they familiarise themselves and comply with Australian Road Rule 108 that requires trucks and buses use low gear along this section of road.”
“Truck and bus drivers must use a gear that is low enough to limit the speed of their vehicle, without having to use the primary brake along that part of South Eastern Freeway.”
“I continue to work with the industry and road safety sector to explore road safety measures across South Australia.”
Two people were killed at the intersection in August when a sewage truck travelling at high speed slammed into three stationary cars, prompting the government to introduce new speed limits for the area.
Superintendent Bob Fauser said truck drivers had an obligation to ensure their vehicles were roadworthy.
“There are still parts of the heavy vehicle industry that are doing the right thing by their employees and the right thing by other road users,” he told reporters.
“But clearly we have strong indications that as an industry, they need to do more to ensure that their vehicles are being properly maintained.”
Earlier yesterday, a blitz on heavy vehicles by Police in Adelaide’s north-west found that nearly half of the vehicles had major defects.
Fauser said that of the 70 inspected vehicles, 31 had major defects, which mean they need to undergo repairs and be re-inspected before being allowed back on the road.
“We know that most drivers and businesses take safety very seriously. However a few don’t. It is those drivers and operators police are targeting,” he said.
– with AAP
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