Truck Accident on F3 Freeway.

[Deano]

At approximately 12.16pm a Linfox B-Double careered off an embankment on the F3 near Mt Colah. The driver is deceased.

Started at 21/04/09 12:16pm
UPDATED 1:11pm
North Wahroonga - F3 Freeway just past Edgeworth David Avenue
Accident - Truck
Confirmed Lanes closed: Northbound - 2 of 3
Traffic conditions: Heavy
Impact: Significant
RTA advice: Avoid the area, Use alternative route
Other advice: A B-double has gone over the embankment. Lanes 1 and 2 are closed. Traffic extends back to the Pacific Highway.
Attending: Emergency service(s), RTA

see news story : http://news.ninemsn.com.au/world/804177 ... ey-highway

With Peak hour approaching it is going to be an absolute Nightmare tonight heading north towards the F3.

[volvob12b]

Anyone know whose truck it was....?

[Tim]

linfox

[daniel_16240]

Traffic was an absolute nightmare all afternoon and still is now! They ended up closing the F3 southbound between Berowra and Wahroonga and diverted northbound traffic via the southbound lanes. The Pacific Hwy southbound turned into a big carpark very quickly!

When I left the Shorelink depot at 8.55pm to travel home to Hornsby (normally a 15min trip) I actually got on the Berowra Waters Ferry to Arcadia and came back through Galston Gorge to Hornsby. It may have taken 40mins, but it was quicker than the highway.

[Tim]

lucky i dont drive train it all the way to gosford for me

[TP 3000]

Going by an earlier report by The Daily Telegraph, they said that another B-Double swerved in front of him & the driver ended up swerved into the left lane to avoid him.

If this is the case, I have seen a similar incident on the Hume Highway a few months back. A sedan was in the right hand lane overtaking a B-Doudle & another truck. Then the B-Doudble suddenly swerved in front of the sedan (while the sedan was half way along the B-Double). This resulted in the sedan (doing 110k's+) to swerve into the median strip & slam on the brakes. I was ahead of this (as I had just passed the sedan & 2 trucks) & went off up the highway.


This is why we need goods delivered by goods trains.

[dude]

linfox

"You are passing another FOX"

[DarrenH]

It looks like the truck has not been retrieved yet. It will be a difficult operation to salvage that truck I think.

[C130]

Traffic will again be diverted tonight between 2000hrs and 0800hrs tomorow morning. The crane they were using lastnight couldt lift the truck.

[Swift]

With the number of wreckless morons that use this road daily,it was a mathematical inevitability something like this would occur.

More police out nabbing these buffoons is the only answer.

[andyr]

With the number of wreckless morons that use this road daily,it was a mathematical inevitability something like this would occur.

More police out nabbing these buffoons is the only answer.

As a frequent driver of the F3 and Sydney's other motorways, it's not only the truck drivers who need attention - it's quite obvious when the "weekend warriors" get on the freeways etc and have no idea of how to drive at speed. Sadly, the reform of the testing system has come too late. There's also some people who just shouldn't have a licence and that includes some taxi drivers of questionable ability and geographic knowledge.

Best I stop.....

[Silver Eagle]

Anyone know whose truck it was....?

Latest word is it wasn't a Linfox truck but a subbie - Detour - although this is not confirmed - not sure there was much of the cab left to identify. Either way, it is a terrible tragedy - very few of the Australian workforce are exposed to the hazards faced daily by heavy vehicle drivers in the course of their job.

[Aryu Gundu]

yes, they are exposed to hazards like stupid drivers and tight scheduels - but how many times have you driven on the freeway and been passed or tailgated by trucks? these blokes are earning a bad name 4 trucks in general. not to mention those on speed and other drugs to keep them going. i saw on the tv news that this crash may hae been caused by a white kenworth cutting him off. what happened to flashing your lights to let the other guy know he has cleared?

[Andrew]

Trucks can only tailgate you if you aren't doing the correct speed limit. That's all truckies and bussies want to do. Car drivers that are too scared/inept to drive at the posted limit are what create the trouble you're referring to.

[Aryu Gundu]

i'm on my red P's so there's bugger-all i can do about that! even if i'm on my green p's i'm sure that we'd still get tailgated. are buses still limited to 100?

[Andrew]

Ok I didn't know that. Fair enough you can't go faster. The 'professional' drivers should see your plate (provided it is affixzed to your vehicle from the outside in accordance with RTA requirements) and not cause any trouble.

All vehicles over 4.5 tonnes should be limited to 100km/h as far as I know, as that is the maximum speed limit for those vehicles. Whether or not a device has been fitted to restrict that speed depends on when it was built.

[crazyknightsfan]

Tailgating is illegal, regardless of what speed the vehicle in front is doing. The speed limit is a limit, not a target, nor an average, nor an expectation etc.

It is disgusting driver behaviour and if someone is tailgating me I am less likely to drive thoughtfully for them than I would for someone who is actually treating a fellow driver with some respect.

[RabidRabbit93111]

I agree. The road is there for everyone to share...no excuses for tailgating, none whatsoever.

[tonyp]

Tailgating is illegal, regardless of what speed the vehicle in front is doing. The speed limit is a limit, not a target, nor an average, nor an expectation etc.

It is disgusting driver behaviour and if someone is tailgating me I am less likely to drive thoughtfully for them than I would for someone who is actually treating a fellow driver with some respect.

Tailgating is stupid on a single lane road or on the left lane of a multilane road. However because of the appalling road sense and driver education in Australia, you get people sitting in the right lane, oblivious to what's happening behind them (not keeping left unless overtaking is also illegal in NSW over 80 kph). Flashing lights, used in Europe, is not understood here and because of the mindset of the Australian personality it is often taken as a sign of aggression which is rewarded with road rage. So the only recourse left to someone who is behind someone driving asleep in the right lane is to close up on them and hope they're aware of your presence in the rearview mirror (which such people also tend not to use). This is not tailgating, it's an Australian indication of a desire to pass in the absence of European road manners.

No it's not terribly safe but it's the only alternative to passing the dope on the left (which is what I end up doing against my better instincts).

Personally I don't have a perception of being tailgated by someone. That's not in my personality. If I see someone close up behind me I take it as a desire by them to pass me so I move over to the left as soon as it's clear to do so to let them past. But then I've spent a lot of years driving in Europe so the aggressive mindset is not in me when I drive here. Get over it and move to the left as soon as its clear to do so - they're not being rude to you, they just want to go past you. But if they're tailgating you on a single lane or left lane then, as I said, I agree that is stupid but please resist the temptation for retaliatory action. That just leads to accidents. They'll pass soon enough.

[mrobsessed]

Tailgating is illegal, regardless of what speed the vehicle in front is doing. The speed limit is a limit, not a target, nor an average, nor an expectation etc.

It is disgusting driver behaviour and if someone is tailgating me I am less likely to drive thoughtfully for them than I would for someone who is actually treating a fellow driver with some respect.

Tailgating is stupid on a single lane road or on the left lane of a multilane road. However because of the appalling road sense and driver education in Australia, you get people sitting in the right lane, oblivious to what's happening behind them (not keeping left unless overtaking is also illegal in NSW over 80 kph). Flashing lights, used in Europe, is not understood here and because of the mindset of the Australian personality it is often taken as a sign of aggression which is rewarded with road rage. So the only recourse left to someone who is behind someone driving asleep in the right lane is to close up on them and hope they're aware of your presence in the rearview mirror (which such people also tend not to use). This is not tailgating, it's an Australian indication of a desire to pass in the absence of European road manners.

No it's not terribly safe but it's the only alternative to passing the dope on the left (which is what I end up doing against my better instincts).

Personally I don't have a perception of being tailgated by someone. That's not in my personality. If I see someone close up behind me I take it as a desire by them to pass me so I move over to the left as soon as it's clear to do so to let them past. But then I've spent a lot of years driving in Europe so the aggressive mindset is not in me when I drive here. Get over it and move to the left as soon as its clear to do so - they're not being rude to you, they just want to go past you. But if they're tailgating you on a single lane or left lane then, as I said, I agree that is stupid but please resist the temptation for retaliatory action. That just leads to accidents. They'll pass soon enough.

Here here! Who cares if you're doing the speed limit and someone wants to go past. I let them go past and get done by the speed cameras! It's none of my bloody business how people choose to waste their demerit points.

[crazyknightsfan]

Well I'm not one of those "drive slow for no reason in the right lane" people. If I'm being tailgated its when I am sitting on the speed limit or I’m forced to drive slower either by the weather conditions of what’s going on in front of me. In these cases there’s absolutely no reason to tailgate me and endanger myself and yourself just because you are impatient or want to speed etc.

Most of the time I will move over and let someone pass if I can, but tailgating whilst I’ve got someone on my left blocking me from changing lanes is just stupid – obviously I’ll move over when I get the room.

[Andrew]

Thank you.

[tonyp]

but tailgating whilst I’ve got someone on my left blocking me from changing lanes is just stupid – obviously I’ll move over when I get the room.

That's not the situation I'm referring to. It's when people are in the right lane with nobody on the left. Personally I pass them on the left if there's no vital signs from them but not happy with that. IMO it's quite dangerous. Police don't do anything to deal with right lane huggers.

Drive in Europe one day and you'll see what road discipline is about.

[gld59]

Personally I pass them on the left if there's no vital signs from them but not happy with that. IMO it's quite dangerous.

<nitpick rant>If there's more than one lane, so what. Apart from the increased likelihood of erratic behaviour from someone who's in the right lane for no good reason, why is it dangerous to pass them on the left? I definitely agree drivers should kept to the left as much as practicable, but I just don't get the (typically British) attitude that passing should only be done on the right, when applied to multilane roads. </nitpick rant>

gld

[tonyp]

That attitude is the same all over Europe not just UK. The rationale is that the lanes on that driver's nearside are in the blind (nearside) field of vision. If they are vague enough to be in the outside lane there is more danger passing them on the nearside because when they do something vague and unpredictable (like suddenly wake up and change lanes) they are even less likely to see you. I go past with my hand ready over the horn button. Toyota drivers seem to be the main culprits!