Originally Posted by
wai
prior to the accident, the truck was maintaining an adequate (minimum) gap to the vehicle in front.
This is arguably an incorrect finding from the Inquest based upon what is in turn arguably flawed testimony offered by the Victorian Police. Heather Spooner's determination that the following distance was a safe is based upon testimony offered by Detective Sergeant Bellion of the Victorian Police Serious Crash Unit. In Bellion's testimony, he stated that the gap between the truck and Golf was approximately 2 seconds, or perhaps just over 2 seconds. He went on to say that this gap - or a slightly larger gap than this (due to the truck being a heavy vehicle) was safe. Even if you take the truck driver Mr. Mumford's testimony, where he claims his following distance was greater again (2.5 seconds to 3 seconds), this following distance is still nowhere near adequate or safe. Why is it not adequate or safe? Because the Victorian Government themselves provide a rule book for Heavy Vehicle drivers known as the Truck and Bus Driver's Handbook (an official Vic Roads publication required for heavy vehicle drivers).
On page 51 of that publication, there is a very specific table that lists the required following distance for heavy vehicles. It is based upon what speed the heavy vehicle is traveling at and the distance to the next vehicle ahead in terms of time. It covers speeds ranging from 25 kmh to the speed limited maximum of 100 kmh. It is very clearly stated in the table that at 90 kmh, the required gap is 5 seconds and at 100 kmh the required gap is 6 to 7 seconds. If you extrapolate the table for 95 kmh then the required gap would have been approximately three times the distance that Mr. Mumford was actually maintaining based on police calculations of his actual following distance, or approximately twice the following distance that Mr. Mumford was actually maintaining based upon Mr. Mumford's testimony.
In further statements offered by Detective Sergeant Bellion which could be described as misleading to the Inquest and at best dubious, he went on to say that there is nothing in the road rules to indicate what a safe following distance is, only that a safe distance should be maintained. Given that the above Vic Road's Truck and Bus Driver's Handbook lists the following distances for Heavy Vehicles as clear as night and day and even provides a handy reference based upon speed readout and seconds count to the vehicle in front, it is difficult to understand why the Victorian Police would even make such a statement to the Inquest.
Afterall, if you are going for your heavy vehicle driver's licence or want to keep holding one, like a car driver in any State of Australia you are expected to maintain your knowledge of the road rules. In doing that, you are not expected to carry the actual legislation around with you like a lawyer on their way to court, nor are you reasonably expected to download the relevant acts and learn them by heart. No, you are issued with a comprehensive rule book that gives you rules in plain English and you are required to understand them and pass written tests based upon those rules (and of course follow them at all times on the road). Whatever is written in those publications is understood to serve as the defacto "road rules" for whatever class of vehicle is involved. By understanding those rules you are then in a position to also follow the laws, and critically the various Police organisations within each state should also be enforcing those rules.
So, from this Inquest we have the following:
1. Ivan Mumford was following at - at best half the required following distance or - based upon calculations - one third of the required following distance. He collided with a car ahead which in turn caused a fatal injury to the occupant. Despite not maintaining anything remotely near the required safe gap, he was never charged with any offence, never received so much as a demerit point, let alone a fine. In the meantime, drivers along Victorian roads are getting booked by the Victorian Police on a daily basis for doing 10 kmh over the limit in perfect safety without killing anyone and receiving fines and demerit points as a result.
2. The Victorian Police stated at the Inquest that there is no stipulation anywhere as to what actual following distances are required - only that a safe distance needs to be maintained. This evidence completely contradicts the Truck and Bus Driver's Handbook issued by Vic Roads, where the required following distances are provided in a highly specific table on page 51.
3. The Victorian Police indicted that gap of slightly larger than 2 seconds is adequate for a heavy vehicle travelling at 95 kmh. This completely contradicts the aforementioned speed and distance table contained on page 51 of the Truck and Bus Driver's Handbook. The required gap in order maintain safety is approximately 3 times as large as that indicated by the Victorian Police to the Coronor Heather Spooner.
4. Coroner Heather Spooner's determination that Mumford was following at a safe distance was based upon evidence provided to her as per points 2 and 3 above.
MY13 Polo 77TSI manual transmission Comfortline in Candy White - "Herr Marco"
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