Major heavy vehicle concerns raised following introduction of 40km/h speed rule in Victoria...
Just a day after the Victorian State Government fast-tracked new road rules which came into effect on July 1, including a previously declared rule of drivers being required to slow down to 40km/h for emergency services vehicles, a truck has rear-ended a car.
The truck slammed into the rear of a small sedan in Bacchus Marsh after the car slowed to 40km/h under the new rules, raising concerns about truck stopping distances.
According to reports, a police van had stopped along the Melbourne-bound lane of the Western Freeway to assist a break down around 7pm on July 2.
A car driver saw police lights and slowed down, when a Hino truck following behind it failed to slow down in time hitting the car. The crash is under investigation.
The Royal Automobile Club of Victoria (RACV) says it has called on the Victorian State Government to better explain new road rules and to alert the public to new rules well in advance, to ensure road users are well aware of changes and understand them fully.
RACV traffic manager Dave Jones spoke on 3AW about the difficulty some vehicles may have slowing to 40km/h in time after seeing flashing lights, citing high-speed country roads with undulating roads and bends.
Road transport safety advocate and long-time truckie Rod Hannifey is shocked at the implementation of the new 40km/h rule, saying it could create a bigger problem.
“If you come around a corner fully laden in a b-double at 60-plus tonnes, you’re going to struggle to slow down to 40km/h in time,” Hannifey emphasises.
“Police officers are going to need to be smarter with where they pull vehicles up, because that’s been a problem up until now and it’s going to become a far bigger one.
“There is a difference between, ‘I’ll stop you now because I can’, or, ‘ I’ll move you up a little further to where it’s safe to stop’.”
Hannifey insists the new laws will further reinforce poor driving behaviours around panic braking and improper use of mirrors.
“Now the first thing drivers are going to do is hit the brakes when they see lights, then look behind them, instead of the other way around.
“The police are going to have to have some sort of guideline in place…is there going to be any change to where they pull up vehicles and surely the police must recognise they could be creating a bigger problem than they’re solving.
“They just really need to understand the inability to simply stop 60 tonnes of heavy vehicle when the bloke in front suddenly hits the brakes.”
A major concern for quite some time has been police pulling cars up and occupying a portion of the road lane, Hannifey says, as well as the fact they sit to the rear of cars when pulled up but pull trucks up by stopping in front.
“All too often we come around a bend and a police officer is sitting out in the lane and a b-double is coming the other way, I’ve had it happen at least four times in the last few years.
“There isn’t much you can do when it happens.
“Another issue is when a police officer pulls up a car they usually sit behind it, when they pull up a truck they usually sit in front.
“How are you going to see that police officer in time if he’s in front of a truck…by the time you do you’ll hit the brakes and the truck behind you isn’t going to be able to stop.
“We really need to think about all these things.”