I think if people who are unfortunate to be in an accident could share the full details it might be helpful to the rest of the community.
There is often lots of theory's on here when accidents are reported but I have not seen any actual reports explaining exactly what happened written by actual people who were involved ?
I just read on another forum that a Caravan burnt at the Big4 Harrington on Boxing day and I wonder how that happened ?
If you have actually been in an accident perhaps you can tell us all so we can learn
We were hit by a backpackers van after it hit a Jeep Cherokee head on. Backpacker had no license to speak of and no insurance.The Cherokee and packers van were totalled whilst our damage was contained to the bullbar. The backpacker was walking around speaking Arabic and saying I have no money, I backpacker! Police said it happens all the time.
That explains why they cannot afford a shovel or toilet paper too.
Rule #1 Make the area safe
Rule #2 Assist the injured
Rule #3 make a cuppa and consider the situation. (cuppa maybe replaced by beer, preferred beverage, even oxygen.)
The point being, dont run about making things worse
80 km north of CooberPedy, on a slight downhill slope, the van in front of us started to wobble a bit, made a comment to my wife, then within seconds, the van started to sway more. Driver put his foot on the brakes. Caravan and car rolled twice and finished up 50 m off the road . Driver and passenger were trapped in the upside down car by their seatbelts. The only injury was me when I cut by hands up punching out the window to get them out.
Tow vehicle was a new Discovery and van was a 2.8t tandem, not sure of make. The couple were on their third day of an around Australia trip and were not experienced in towing.
Accident was caused by driver error.
First thing we did after we got them out was to disconnect all batteries, then went to our trailer to make a cuppa for us and them, while we waited for emergency services.
We were hit by a 75 year old man who drove through a Stop sign when we were 100 metres from home , The gentleman had driven from Sydney in NSW to Ipswich in QLD no stop , so how many people travel to far in a day and put other at risk .
Almost were road kill yesterday.
Very congested holiday traffic and we were heading north from Melbourne on the Hume, (overnight at Jugiong) through Sydney and up the M1...........lots of traffic, but moved along okay really....no real incidents.
Until we got north the Hawkesbury and slotted in behind an L-plater.....slowish but not too bad, so we just stayed put.
Got to the big dipper just before the Gosford exit..............big decent, bridge over the chasm then a big steep climb out..... we are in the left lane, as you do, sharing with a semi full of gas behind us.
Right at the bottom, the L-plater slows....and slows......slows....... to a crawl...almost stops
Meanwhile, lane to the right is chockers, and I'm looking to move but cant.....I'm slowed to a crawl almost stopped......thinking that truck is coming in the back in just a micro second.
"Must have broken down...will glide over to the breakdown lane" ......glad we had left a good space between us and them as we travelled....expecting to ease past when they slide over
............nope...........
They were looking over the edge at the view.
Then put the foot down and headed up the hill, leaving me towing from almost a standing start, but worst the truckie lost his revs and would be crawling up that hill for a long time..... and everyone from me and the truckie to the 20 odd vehicles behind us cursing.
Fatigue, inexperience, distraction or substance abuse are the causes of just about all "accidents" - ALL avoidable. Mechanical failure, a very small percentage.
__________________
Cheers,
Tony
"Opinion is the medium between ignorance and knowledge" - Plato
Hi :)
We had an accident some years back, in a VW van that we had just purchased two days earlier ?? It was in the city on a main feeder road doing only 50 Ks in a loose line of moving traffic.
The other driver was parked in front of his house and did a U turn into the side of our van ?????? Did not see it ? He was old and in a hurry to go to a doctors appointment. The street was flat and straight. Confusion is great at an accident, particularly when it just happens out of the blue with no warning. The other guy was confused but un-hurt at first look. Just stunned to find he had hit us. We were un-hurt but also stunned. My wife pulled off the road as soon as possible, and I directed some traffic around the site and checked the other guy.
After some confusion the guys daughter came out and helped him away from the car. I tried to talk to some witnesses and get their contacts. And then some pic with the phone.
Shortly after a police car pulled up close by for some other reason. I spoke to him and he reluctantly came over. By this time the other driver had been taken away to the doctor which we did not notice. The copper was not impressed with that and seperated the two sides of the disussion and spoke to us first, then the other daughter, and looked at the damage briefly. He deemed it a non vital accident and left after a while with instructions to remove the other car from the road side.
Both cars had to be towed away. A tow truck just arrived. Ours was leaking oil from under and the front wheel was damaged as it took the main hit. Some parts were pulled off the side as it scraped past the front of the other car. The other car was flattened at the front and looked sad ! I took more pictures with my phone. The cars positions and marks etc.
The other guys insurance paid for the damage as we did not have comprehensive insurance done, But there was discussion about the transmission oil leak and the accident and I had to eventually take the company to the insurance council to get a satisfactory outcome. The old guys insurance company admitted liability after we did a claim phone call. The cop was not impressed with him leaving the scene of the accident quickly when he was not injured. He gave the daughter a serve about that. Not sure what happened to him, but my wife was deemed to be at no fault, correctly.
Hope that might help someone. Confusion and feeling stunned is the result of an accident and if there was someone hurt then it would be scarey too.
Jaahn
Almost were road kill yesterday. Very congested holiday traffic and we were heading north from Melbourne on the Hume, (overnight at Jugiong) through Sydney and up the M1...........lots of traffic, but moved along okay really....no real incidents. Until we got north the Hawkesbury and slotted in behind an L-plater.....slowish but not too bad, so we just stayed put. Got to the big dipper just before the Gosford exit..............big decent, bridge over the chasm then a big steep climb out..... we are in the left lane, as you do, sharing with a semi full of gas behind us. Right at the bottom, the L-plater slows....and slows......slows....... to a crawl...almost stops Meanwhile, lane to the right is chockers, and I'm looking to move but cant.....I'm slowed to a crawl almost stopped......thinking that truck is coming in the back in just a micro second. "Must have broken down...will glide over to the breakdown lane" ......glad we had left a good space between us and them as we travelled....expecting to ease past when they slide over ............nope........... They were looking over the edge at the view. Then put the foot down and headed up the hill, leaving me towing from almost a standing start, but worst the truckie lost his revs and would be crawling up that hill for a long time..... and everyone from me and the truckie to the 20 odd vehicles behind us cursing.
Hi Rip & Rosie,
Dash Cam, I won't leave home without one.
I/we use a Black View500,1080 mp. Records night and day.
NSW has had 384 fatalities on its roads in 2017, the worst figure in Australia.
Police have issued a whopping 14,660 speeding fines and nabbed 777 for drink driving.
Queenslands toll remains at 242 people for the year.
In Victoria, the states road toll stands at 254 for 2017 after six people were killed from December 24 to 27. So far, 12 people have been killed in total since the start of its road safety campaign which began two weeks ago.
Police have also recorded 597 drink driving offences, 4933 speeding offences and 390 drug test offences.
Western Australia has recorded 153 deaths on its roads this year, Northern Territory, 30 and South Australia, 98.
__________________
Possum; AKA:- Ali El-Aziz Mohamed Gundawiathan
Sent from my imperial66 typewriter using carrier pigeon, message sticks and smoke signals.
Generally accidents are human error, not the failure of the good vehicles we have these days. As a re-inforcement to this last week the RACV were commenting on accidents and human error and said the main call outs they get these days is people running out of fuel (human) and rarely a mechanical failure.
They were looking over the edge at the view..........
Until such time that the over paid public servants admit to the fact that the current system of 'teaching' someone how to drive, or should that be how to get their license, is flawed,
these sorts of things and worst will continue to happen and we will continuously get the same boring 'message' on the media from coppers: 'drivers need to drive to the conditions'.
They were looking over the edge at the view..........
Until such time that the over paid public servants admit to the fact that the current system of 'teaching' someone how to drive, or should that be how to get their license, is flawed,
these sorts of things and worst will continue to happen and we will continuously get the same boring 'message' on the media from coppers: 'drivers need to drive to the conditions'.
Larry
Well said, we badly need it.
The problem that's less surmountable, is attitude - you can teach skills and make licence attainment more difficult, but an intrinsic "I don't give a damn" attitude is nigh on impossible to adjust. So as well as better teaching of skills, we need to get rid of the nanny state approach and start dishing out seriously severe penalties. Only today we saw the case of a 20y/o P plater doing 215 in a 100 limit. What did he get? 6 months loss of licence, loss of demerit points, $1177 fine. What a joke.
__________________
Cheers,
Tony
"Opinion is the medium between ignorance and knowledge" - Plato
Then thereās the other side ? Maybe he has a family to look after ? Maybe no licence - no job ?? Yes I know itās HIS or THEIR responsibility !ā Itās JUST not speed itās attitudes. Soo many donāt even think of concentrate when driving . On open road to a point too much is put on speed !! Mind you it often is BOTH when it comes to attitude !! Then you get the drivers who think they are police ! Let em go !!
One accident I had when about 12 -15 . I was driving a tractor down a hill . It jept skidding going faster and faster . Couldnāt brake . I revved engine to land speed to get traction back . Any way it went through two fences . Couldnāt turn as it would have tipped over ., Thank goodness there was no cliff . Took me 3 houres to fix the fence . No other damage . But a well learned thing about weight and control .. Then there was a time when my Dad put a full petrol tin on top of told farm truck battery . It didnāt take long to catch fire !! Just bloody lucky the old truck had a fire extinguisher and a crate of long neck beer bottles !! Opening the beer and quickly shacking soon put the fire out !! Sheesh !!
NSW has had 384 fatalities on its roads in 2017, the worst figure in Australia.
Police have issued a whopping 14,660 speeding fines and nabbed 777 for drink driving.
Queenslands toll remains at 242 people for the year.
In Victoria, the states road toll stands at 254 for 2017 after six people were killed from December 24 to 27. So far, 12 people have been killed in total since the start of its road safety campaign which began two weeks ago.
Police have also recorded 597 drink driving offences, 4933 speeding offences and 390 drug test offences.
Western Australia has recorded 153 deaths on its roads this year, Northern Territory, 30 and South Australia, 98.
Interesting but not surprising that NSW has the most fatalities the population of NSW is a lot more than than the other states. I haven,t done it but it would be more interesting to see the fatality rate per head of population. Compared to NSW Victoria seems lower as it has 140 less fatalities with probably 80% of the population but on the other hand WA would seem to be higher. (if Sydney were a state it would have more people than all of them except for Vic and Qid). All I know is that it is a lot safer driving in Australia than many other places on this planet and one of them is here in Oman where apparently I am 6 times more likely to be killed in a road accident.
