Victoria's horror freeway smash.

[red750]

This dashcam footage dated 21st March which was posted on Facebook shows the black Porsche involved in the accident travelling at an estimated 200kph on the freeway. The car had fake plates with the number of a display car from a luxury car dealer. The dashcam footage shows the camera car was travelling at 98kph.

 

[old man emu]

What a terrible end to that person's thrill ride! The worst of it is that when the driver is caught, the only things that the person can be charged with are a number of serious speed and registration offences, escaping from police custody (when the driver ran away from the scene) and possibly illegally using a motor vehicle.

 

Why? Because the driver was not the reason the truck hit the police. The Porsche had been stopped for some time. The driver was in custody. The person who will be legally held responsible for the deaths will be the truck driver who drove into the stationary vehicles and police. Of course, whether charges are laid will depend on the investigation results. I heard a story that the driver suffered a medical incident immediately prior to the collision. Let's leave that discussion until the Coroner's Inquest.

 

What is further heartbreaking for the Victoria Police is that due to this damned virus, these police will not be afforded the honour of a Police funeral at the time of their burial. No doubt the State of Victoria will arrange a suitable recognition ceremony once the immediate crisis has passed.

 

As police, you expect the unexpected when you attend Domestics, mental health related incidents, and are extra alert. But a "routine" traffic stop on a road where you have stopped a thousand other motorists over the years is not the place for heightened alertness to the passing traffic. Dose Victoria have a speed restriction in the presence of stationary emergency vehicles?

 

The cruelest part of this is that the police were not trying to arrest a person using weapons to avoid arrest. This is the greatest loss of police in a single incident since the Stringybark Creek shootings by the Kellys in 1878.

 

Our deepest sympathy is extended to the Loved Ones of those Police.

[red750]

'That person' is a 41 year old who is well known to police with a string of prior offences. Apparently he had advised police he was going to hand himself in, but went to a Chemist Warehouse in Collingwood and spoke in detail to the staff who alerted police. As for the truck driver, there is conjecture as to whether the 'medical incident' was before or after the collision.

[KRviator]

As for the truck driver, there is conjecture as to whether the 'medical incident' was before or after the collision.

I'd say after. Any normal person would probably have a heart attack as well upon realising you've just mowed down & killed 4 coppers.

 

The thing that shits me to tears though, tragic as the prang is, is their being describes as "heroic", "heroes" etc. They died in the performance of their duties, true, but that alone does not make their death noble, or heroic in any way and only serves to denigrate those genuine hero's who put themselves in harms way to help others.

Edited April 23, 2020 by Guest

[facthunter]

Regarding the question asked I believe you are supposed to reduce speed to 40? Km/hr when passing a police vehicle which is stopped and involved with other traffic in Victoria. My words, not necessarily how it is written. Nev

[KRviator]

Same in NSW, 40kph past the Police/Ambos etc, if the speed limit is 80 or less, if 90 or more, give enough space and vacate the lane nearest the emergency vehicle if possible. It also applies to tow trucks and NRMA assistance vehicles if displaying orange lights - something a lot of people don't realise... NSW Road Rule 78-1 is the reference.

 

There have been several extremely close calls and numerous accidents on the freeway before they introduced the 80 limit, people would barrel along doing their 100-110 and jam on the anchors at the last minute fearing a "Exceed speed by 70km/hr" type of fine. Ol' mate behind is day dreaming and runs up the asre end.

Edited April 23, 2020 by Guest

[red750]

From the VicRoads website:

 

From 1 July 2017 a new road rule has been introduced to improve safety for our emergency and enforcement workers.

 

You must slow down to a speed that would enable you to stop safely when approaching and passing enforcement, emergency or escort vehicles that are stationary or moving slowly (less than 10km/h)*, and have either:

 

• Red and blue flashing lights
  
• Magenta (purple flashing lights)
  
• An alarm sounding.
  

You must not exceed 40km/h when passing the vehicle and not increase your speed until a safe distance from the scene (more on this below).

 

The new road rule does not apply to vehicles on the opposite side of a divided road (separated by a median strip) from an emergency or enforcement vehicle scene.

 

* A fire truck extinguishing roadside spot fires is an example of a slow moving emergency vehicle.

 

It appears from the animation on the news that the officers were standing between the police vehicle and the Porsche when the truck drifted into the emergency lane, striking the police car and pushing it aside before running over the officers and the Porsche.

[onetrack]

We had a truckie here on the Left Coast who ran into two blokes changing a trailer wheel on the freeway. He drove into the emergency lane and rolled their car and their trailer up into an unrecognisable ball about 50 metres off the highway.

Turned out he just went to sleep at the wheel - at 4.00 in the afternoon! They only gave him a minimal sentence because he hadn't been driving for excessive hours, he probably had a sleep disorder of some kind that was never picked up.

 

I also remember seeing a video of a tunnel in Europe where a long-distance truckie ran into a pile of stopped cars in the tunnel. Demolished a heap of cars and killed 3 people.

Turned out he'd been driving for 3 days non-stop and was spaced out on drugs.

 

I never, never, ever, trust any vehicle coming towards me when I have to stop on a highway or high-speed section of road. I never ever stand on the road, and I'm always watching the oncoming vehicles.

People will not stop, 50% of the drivers are struggling to control their vehicle anyway, and it's a well known problem that drivers unintentionally steer towards stopped vehicles, even though they don't intend to.

 

Get a look at the YooToob videos of Troopers on American Highways narrowly being missed by idiotic drivers. If I was a lawman, I would never stand anywhere on a highway, unless traffic control is in place.

Edited April 23, 2020 by Guest

[Jerry_Atrick]

I have to admit, up until I moved to the UK at the spritely young age of 30, I had not given a second thought to stopping and staying in the emergency lane of a freeway/motorway. Although, it ony happaned once to me before moving. In the UK, I had a flat on the M4, parked in the emergency lane and started to change the tyre. A Traffic officer (not police - more safety officers) was there quick smart (maybe three minutes) in their land rovers with their orange lights flashinf.. and berated the be-jeepers out of me for doing what I did.. apparently the most dangerous situation to be on on the motorway. I still remember his words (after a fractious greeting): " Hazards on, get out of the car and away from the emergency lane - the further the better! Call the *bleepin* roadside assist!"

[Jerry_Atrick]

I'd say after. Any normal person would probably have a heart attack as well upon realising you've just mowed down & killed 4 coppers.

 

The thing that shits me to tears though, tragic as the prang is, is their being describes as "heroic", "heroes" etc. They died in the performance of their duties, true, but that alone does not make their death noble, or heroic in any way and only serves to denigrate those genuine hero's who put themselves in harms way to help others.

I understand what you are saying.. But I look at it this way.. we have no idea what other perils they have been exposed to and have been lucky to survive during the course of their career.. And Melbounre is no longer the pacifist place it used to be. Because these rarely get reported.. So when they are tragically taken away in the call of duty, the reflection of heroism is not necessarily for that moment only...

Edited April 23, 2020 by Guest

[KRviator]

We had a truckie here on the Left Coast who ran into two blokes changing a trailer wheel on the freeway. He drove into the emergency lane and rolled their car and their trailer up into an unrecognisable ball about 50 metres off the highway. Turned out he just went to sleep at the wheel - at 4.00 in the afternoon! They only gave him a minimal sentence because he hadn't been driving for excessive hours, he probably had a sleep disorder of some kind that was never picked up.

These two tradies had a lucky escape in similar circumstances. Same thing, truckie drifted into the emergency lane and sideswiped their ute. Apologies for the ads, I can't find a youtube version...

 

I've told the KRviatrix if she gets a flat on the freeway, park up and hop over the Armco railing, about 50m up-traffic from her car. She doesn't have a spare in her car, only goop and a tiny compressor. She well understands the dangers of stopped traffic on the freeway, having lost a good friend on the F3 when a truck careened into a line of stopped cars there 20 years ago. In my 4wd, I'm able to, and quite prepared to drive on the remains of the tyre/rim to be able to reverse into one of those emergency bays or crossovers.

Edited April 23, 2020 by Guest

[red750]

and it's a well known problem that drivers unintentionally steer towards stopped vehicles, even though they don't intend to.

 

The same as running into the only tree or power pole for hundreds of metres.

[red750]

Well, the driver of the Porsche would have to be one of the most reprehensible low-lifes ever to draw breath. From one of the decease officer;s body cams, it was revealed that while the female officer pleaded for assistance before she died, this scum walked around filming her dying, and abusing her for destroying his beloved car. Then he sent the footage to police officers he knew or had had dealings with. Trying to think of a suitable punishment, injections of paint stripper comes to mind.

[Jerry_Atrick]

Castration without anesthetic comes to mind as a suitable punishment.

[red750]

Or stripped from the waist down and sat in a tank of piranha.

[onetrack]

A bullet straight between the eyes to rid the world of the oxygen thief is what is required. What puzzles me is, this bloke is a druggie with a long criminal record, and they reckon he's a Mortgage Broker??

 

How does a crim get a Mortgage Broking licence in that State? Do they give them out in Weeties packets? Over here on the Left Coast., we sorted out the Mortgage Broking business long ago, by strict licencing, and rooting out the scumbags.

[red750]

Too quick, OT. He needs to suffer. Some of the old punishments seem appropriate. Smeared with honey and tied to an ant's nest. Suspended over a fire.

[pmccarthy]

The goat's tongue. Tied to a chair, salt on the feet, in a room with a goat. It was considered the most severe torture in medieval Italy.

[Jerry_Atrick]

I went to Silves Castle in Portugal a few years ago. The torture chamber was filled with tortures that were so horrid, I had to leave before seeing it all.. They should send him there, put him through all the tortures that don't kill him and finish it with the impaling pole, where you are sat on a tapering pole to a spike/point on your a£se and it comes out your mouth...

 

 

Actually, I am normally against capital punishment and torture - but this is an exception to the rule.

 

edit.. Nope - still against capital punishment, but he can suffer the torture...

Edited April 24, 2020 by Guest

[willedoo]

Latest news reports are saying an ice pipe was found in the cab of the semi trailer involved.

[Bruce Tuncks]

Those police sure took their eyes off the road or they could have evaded the truck. I reckon it was terrible bad luck that a truckie lost it just there.

And I am mystified about just where a mortgage broker gets his money. Does he get a commission from the banks? Which they in turn get back from the borrower? Why would they do this? Both the borrower and the banks I mean.

[KRviator]

Banks typically pay them commission, borrowers use them in the belief they (the broker) can get them the best deal from several competing banks based on their specific circumstances. And naturally, because banks don't want to lose money, can pass the costs on to borrowers, eventually.

 

As I recall, this is only the latest in several incidents over the last decade in which Police officers have been killed either by passing motorists (where the fault is the motorist) or by stepping back into a traffic lane and being hit by a passing car. One can only wonder just what their risk assessment is. As a train driver, I can't even go within 3m of a railway line without some form of protection on that line (even if it is simply another bloke acting as a lookout, but you can never be your own lookout), yet up until a few months ago, Police thought it was ok to pull over a motorist and not only put themselves at risk, but the motorist as well, with traffic passing at 110kph only a few feet away...

 

Am I the only one who sees an issue with that?

Edited April 24, 2020 by Guest

[old man emu]

Those police sure took their eyes off the road or they could have evaded the truck.

 

Reconsider that statement.

1. The police and the Porsche were in the "breakdown lane" which would be as far off the road as they could get.
   
2. The police seem to have been standing in the breakdown lane at the rear of one of the police cars.
   
3. No doubt their warning lights were operating (conjecture, I know, but standard operating procedure)
   
4. The police were probably watching the Porsche driver, who, given his actions after the collision, was probably giving them a mouthful, and was a potential escapee.
   
5. Since the Porsche driver was completely uninjured, he must have been well to the left side of the breakdown lane.
   
6. If the truck was travelling at 100 kph, it was covering 27.7 metres every second.
   
7. Say the truck driver looked towards the stopped police vehicles 100 metres before colliding with them, it would have taken a tad under 4 seconds to reach them
   
8. It's well known that if a driver turns the head away from the straight ahead position, there is a tendency to steer the vehicle in that direction. In fact keeping the eyes on the target is one of the first skills we teach our children when they play ball and other types of throwing games.
   

I'd say the poor buggers never knew what hit them.

[Yenn]

I heard that the Porsche driver was urinating at the side of the road, that is why he was not hit.

Either the truck driver was not attending to what he was doing, or he had a medical incident, or he deliberately drove into the police. I doubt that it was deliberate, so that leaves the other two alternatives. Hopefully medics will be able to shed some light onto the cause of the accident. Whatever caused it I reckon that the Porsche driver needs to be locked away for some time, if only for taking and posting photos of people in distress.

[onetrack]

The truck driver was from the Sub-Continent. How often have we seen these sub-standard drivers getting through the "system"? A trucking friend says his alertness increases the instant he spots an Indian driving a truck.

 

https://www.perthnow.com.au/news/court-justice/dangerous-driver-amritpal-singh-sidhu-avoids-jail-despite-fatal-perth-crash-ng-b881076999z