Interesting sequel to Hume Highway accident

[G6ET8U]

Originally Posted by burnz

and that caused him to cross a median stip and hit a car?
could he have fallen asleep?
are you certain he was speeding at the time of the accident?
did he blow a steer tire?

I've blown a steer on a fully loaded 8T rigid.

8pm on a Friday night heading in to the city here in Melbourne on Grand Final eve. It was a fews ago now. Happened on the limiter in the middle lane.

100kph and a blown steer. It's not nice.

Traffic everywhere in all three lanes and me, with a blown steer. Managed to get across to the emergency lane with hazard lights on in only a couple of hundred metres. More luck and *** than anything else. Truck shaking and pulling away from me. It was drivers side.

I ended up working 17 hours that day. Got home at 3am.

Wouldnt' wish a blown steer tyre on anyone in a truck.

Jack

[Jim Goose]

Originally Posted by burnz

and that caused him to cross a median stip and hit a car?
could he have fallen asleep?
are you certain he was speeding at the time of the accident?
did he blow a steer tire?

Irrespective of how the accident occured, Police would be investigating every aspect of the driver and his truck. The accident was the catalist (the can of worms) to the investigation centered around the companys illegal practises.

The wouldve checked his log book, the speed limiter, etc etc etc...

[aussiblue]

Gets worse: http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/...ughter-charges

Sydney truck driver charged with the manslaughter of a man and his parents was impaired by the drug methadone when he crashed into them, police allege.

Police have laid 11 more charges, including manslaughter, against Vincent Samuel George, 34, who appeared in Campbelltown Local Court on Wednesday.

George was driving a B-double for Lennon's Transport Services on January 24 when it careered onto the wrong side of the Hume Highway at Menangle.

It collided with another vehicle, killing Calvyn Logan, 59, and his parents, Donald and Patricia Logan, both aged in their 80s.

He was charged in February with three counts of dangerous driving occasioning death.

Police have now lodged more charges including three counts of manslaughter and three counts of aggravated dangerous driving occasioning death while under the influence of drugs.

George was also charged with negligent driving occasioning death, self-administering a prohibited drug and driving while under the influence of a drug.

Police allege he drove a truck that had its speed limiter tampered with to exceed the 100km/h maximum for heavy vehicles.

He also has been charged with having inaccurate entries in his log book.

"We will allege that a driver under the influence of a drug, in a modified truck, with inaccurate, illegitimate fatigue records caused a collision resulting in the deaths of three people," traffic operations commander Stuart Smith told reporters on Wednesday.

During his brief court appearance, George wore a dark, pin-striped suit and was supported by family members.

He was issued with a field court attendance notice to appear in the same court on July 9.

The collision sparked a wide-ranging investigation into safety in the trucking industry

[2011G6E]

Originally Posted by Feathers

It's no surprise Lennons finally got caught again.
Just sad people had to die before they got more than a slap on the wrist.

...maybe if they enforced the workplace safety laws that mean managers and bosses can actually end up in jail for serious breaches, companies might have something to be worried about.

[prydey]

that article says 'allege' a lot. i'm not saying the guy isn't guilty of dangerous driving causing death, but to me if something is 'alleged' it is yet to be proven.

[pottery beige]

on the metho.. lols.....

[prydey]

Originally Posted by Jim Goose

Irrespective of how the accident occured, Police would be investigating every aspect of the driver and his truck. The accident was the catalist (the can of worms) to the investigation centered around the companys illegal practises.

The wouldve checked his log book, the speed limiter, etc etc etc...

i would take the word of the owner over what is reported in the media any day of the week. whenever trucks are involved, the sensationalists come out of the woodwork, even more than normal.

Letter to Suppliers/Customers


As you are aware, the last month has been a particularly challenging one for Lennons Transport Pty Ltd, but the majority of our fleet is now back on the road and business has resumed.

The fatal accident in January which triggered the investigation into our organisation was a tragedy of the highest order and we extend our greatest sympathies to the families of those involved.

There has in recent days been a considerable amount of misinformation in the media about our organisation, its conduct and its record, and I believe it is necessary as a supplier or a client that you are aware of the main facts.

The claims that the "majority of our fleet were found to have illegal modifications" is untrue.

From 22 February 2012, Roads & Maritime Services Authority (RMS) has inspected all Lennons trucks at our yard and on the road. RMS required eleven trucks to have an independent speed compliance check undertaken. All of the trucks identified by RMS have now been inspected. Ten of the eleven trucks have been confirmed as speed compliant with only 1 truck needing to be adjusted. We expect to receive confirmation that the eleventh truck is speed compliant shortly.

It is untrue that a Lennons truck was found "abandoned on a roadside in Victoria" with a dumped log book nearby. No Lennons trucks were ever abandoned anywhere and the positions of all trucks were known to our staff at all times.

All trucks that were roadside inspected were cleared to continue on their journeys.

It is untrue that two of our trucks attempted to drive through a red light at the weigh station. The RMS has confirmed that there was a computer glitch at the weigh station and the light was green not red when the Lennons trucks left the weigh station. This is why the drivers of the trucks are not being charged.

It is untrue that illegal cash incentives were paid to drivers to make faster deliveries.

It is untrue that major supermarket chains have made unrealistic demands on Lennons deadlines. Our freight is general freight for one-off or small jobs, and as we do not transport perishable items for supermarkets, our deadlines are not as critical.

It is untrue that a Lennons driver was found with a mobile phone message urging him not to return to the base because of the inspections. This truck had already been inspected at Marulan NSW and therefore did not need to return to the depot which was already totally congested.

Lennons Transport Services has cooperated fully with regulators throughout their investigations and will continue to do so. As operators in a regulated industry we have a history of working with authorities.

I started Lennons Transport Services with my brother almost 30 years ago ? it is a family business and our personal integrity and reputations are on the line every day. As you know from working with us, we are an honest, hardworking company with loyal employees who operate in a challenging environment and retain a long-term client base.

We operate a late model fleet with a rigorous maintenance regime dictated by law, together with Trucksafe (1999), NHVAS Mass and Maintenance (2004) and our own corporate standards, and our work is often considered the "better jobs" because there are not impossible deadlines and drivers are not required to undertake a considerable amount of physical labour.

Throughout this matter and our history, I am proud to say that our integrity has never been compromised and as we move forward we will vigorously defend our reputation in the public arena and in court.

We value our suppliers and our clients and I am confident that we will emerge from the current investigation with a restored reputation.

In the meantime, I ask for your support and that you consider only the facts of the current matter and our history with your organisation.

As always, I am more than happy to answer any questions you might have providing they do not threaten to compromise the final stages of the current investigation.



Yours sincerely



Tony Lennon
Director
Lennons Transport Services

[sudszy]

So we keep hearing truckies tell us "its the companies made us do it", "if we got better salaries we wouldnt put your lives at risk by taking drugs, driving while fatigued, speeding"

these are the lamest excuses going around.

If the drivers know the only way to meet the schedules is to break the laws then basically they are the sharp end of the problem.

Just as in the underworld where we have people paying to get killed, both who arranged payed for the crime and who committed it both see lengthy sessions at a coburg address!.

But Melbourne to Sydney is 12hours+ at 100km/h, it will be safer if we do 130km/h so we aren't fatigued... ffs, Melbourne to Brisbane is 23 hours, it will be safer if we do 200+km/h?

Organise proper rest stops, take a 2nd driver, whatever....but the customer will pay.

Of course, when we have criminals(that's what truckies that break the rules really are) prepared to comply with stupid schedules and low pay then there will be always those in business that will use their services.

Refuse to drive the things if it means having to break the laws. Eventually they'll have to come to the party and offer realistic pay and schedules if they cant move their produce.

how much will that add to the price of our goods.....before idiots scream it will send the prices of things on the shelf sky rocketing, have a think about how many kgs of stuff they are hauling and how much even doubling the cost of transporting it would add to the shelf price, the transport cost is a tiny % of the total.

[prydey]

sudzsy, i don't think you'll find many opponents regarding your views. most truckies would probably agree somewhat.

as always, it is always a minority, whether it be cars, trucks, footballers, etc that tarnish the reputation of the majority.

[NAK302]

Originally Posted by 2011G6E

Basically, a responsible government would get them all off the frigging roads which were never designed for them, and put the freight back on the railways where it belongs, with smaller trucks only used for going from the rail depot to the destination nearby at the other end.

absolutely agree here. how often do you drive down from say Bowen to Rocky and see freight trains with empty wagons, yet you're seeing a 50 or so heavy B-doubles.

at the moment there are more and more heavy trucks using the Peak Downs highway and litterally destroying it. some of these are triples full of gravel. yet 50m's from the side of the road is a huge rail network that is only utilised for coal transportation. rediculous

the less trucks on the roads the better, i say, regardless of where we live

[aussie muscle]

Originally Posted by 2011G6E

The cameras, from what I've heard, are a big issue...they take the photo of the trailer...unless they get a picture of the front of the prime mover itself, the company can simply say they don't know who was driving the truck pulling that particular trailer, or which prime mover was doing it. It was happening in Bundaberg a few years back, frustrating the cops as when they would visit, everyone would magically "forget" who had been pulling that trailer in the photo...

This is easy to fix... make the company liable for the ticket. they'll soon remember which driver it was if THEY have to pay

[Charliewool]

Originally Posted by sudszy

So we keep hearing truckies tell us "its the companies made us do it", "if we got better salaries we wouldnt put your lives at risk by taking drugs, driving while fatigued, speeding"

these are the lamest excuses going around.

If the drivers know the only way to meet the schedules is to break the laws then basically they are the sharp end of the problem.

Just as in the underworld where we have people paying to get killed, both who arranged payed for the crime and who committed it both see lengthy sessions at a coburg address!.

But Melbourne to Sydney is 12hours+ at 100km/h, it will be safer if we do 130km/h so we aren't fatigued... ffs, Melbourne to Brisbane is 23 hours, it will be safer if we do 200+km/h?

Organise proper rest stops, take a 2nd driver, whatever....but the customer will pay.

Of course, when we have criminals(that's what truckies that break the rules really are) prepared to comply with stupid schedules and low pay then there will be always those in business that will use their services.

Refuse to drive the things if it means having to break the laws. Eventually they'll have to come to the party and offer realistic pay and schedules if they cant move their produce.

how much will that add to the price of our goods.....before idiots scream it will send the prices of things on the shelf sky rocketing, have a think about how many kgs of stuff they are hauling and how much even doubling the cost of transporting it would add to the shelf price, the transport cost is a tiny % of the total.

Did you write this 20 years ago Sudszy?
I mean, WHAT address in Coburg? And how long since you drove Melb-Syd?
It was 12 hrs back in Razor-back days... Easily done (legally) in 9 now.
(are you sure your name's not really Scrubby?)

[aussiblue]

I have to say in WA after more than 40 years on the road and a lot of that on country roads I generally find truck drivers some of the safest drivers I encounter.

That said, I occupy myself while waiting at the Murdoch train station each workday morning between 6:30 am and 7 am by spotting the drivers using mobile phones while driving on the adjacent northbound freeway and the most frequent offenders I observe are truck drivers (about 1 in three - presumably safe from police observation sitting in their cabs above the cars) followed by tradies (1 in 4) followed by drivers in cars with extra dark window tint (1 in 2) - we can still see what you are doing through the front windscreen. And off course a truck or tradie vehicle with extra dark tint seems almost a 100% certainty indicator they will be on their mobile.

[Ben73]

In Europe trucks are limited to 90. Australian truckies should be happy they can do 100

[brismike]

Originally Posted by Charliewool

Did you write this 20 years ago Sudszy?
I mean, WHAT address in Coburg? And how long since you drove Melb-Syd?
It was 12 hrs back in Razor-back days... Easily done (legally) in 9 now.
(are you sure your name's not really Scrubby?)

I just did the Melbourne to Sydney trip in my XR6. Templestowe Lower to Darling Harbour on a Wednesday. My TomTom estimated the trip at 8hrs 55 min which is within your time above. However we left at about 7.30 am and got there at about 6.15 pm. So it took 10hr 45min. That included 3 stops for food, petrol, toilet etc.

You could do it in 9 hours if you had a full tank of petrol, didn't get hungry or didn't need to pee but it wouldn't be easy lol.

The Hume is 4 lanes all the way now except for one small section in Holbrook NSW.

Cheers Mike

[Seduce XR6]

Originally Posted by prydey

that article says 'allege' a lot. i'm not saying the guy isn't guilty of dangerous driving causing death, but to me if something is 'alleged' it is yet to be proven.

To me it means the police have the proof & know he is guilty however have to wait for a judge to say so & that is why we have so many criminals loose on our streets because sometimes even if the person is guilty it cannot be proven beyond a reasonable doubt so they walk free.

I hope they lock this murderer up for a very long time!

[Seduce XR6]

Originally Posted by prydey

i would take the word of the owner over what is reported in the media any day of the week. whenever trucks are involved, the sensationalists come out of the woodwork, even more than normal.

So I guess the RMS, Media & the Police modified the trucks from Lennons to make a story or blame someone?

Come on the evidence is there for all to see

And as we all know also it is not just this company as others have been caught doing the same mods so as far as I am concerned it is right through the industry.

I know I have been passed by plenty of speed limited trucks on a flat road while I was doing 100 or just over & they did not just crawl past me either.

[prydey]

Originally Posted by Seduce XR6

So I guess the RMS, Media & the Police modified the trucks from Lennons to make a story or blame someone?

They had all their trucks checked by RMS and ALL of them were found speed compliant.

From 22 February 2012, Roads & Maritime Services Authority (RMS) has inspected all Lennons trucks at our yard and on the road. RMS required eleven trucks to have an independent speed compliance check undertaken. All of the trucks identified by RMS have now been inspected. Ten of the eleven trucks have been confirmed as speed compliant with only 1 truck needing to be adjusted. We expect to receive confirmation that the eleventh truck is speed compliant shortly.

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by Charliewool

Did you write this 20 years ago Sudszy?
I mean, WHAT address in Coburg? And how long since you drove Melb-Syd?
It was 12 hrs back in Razor-back days... Easily done (legally) in 9 now.
(are you sure your name's not really Scrubby?)

He's referring to Pentridge Prison (which closed down in the 90s I think), which is now a housing estate with a big ugly bluestone wall from the 1800s surrounding it.

[Seduce XR6]

Originally Posted by prydey

They had all their trucks checked by RMS and ALL of them were found speed compliant.

I just googled Lennons & read through 4 pages of links to articles & all of them said the same sort of thing, that 8 trucks were tampered with along with various other wrongs such as one truck would not stop for police or polair.

The only article that supports what your telling me is the letter written by Mr Boss Lennon on his own website, so are we to believe him & not the police?

Here is just one such artice: http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/...-accounted-for

So find me an article not written by Mr Lennon in which it says what your saying.

[prydey]

Originally Posted by Seduce XR6

The only article that supports what your telling me is the letter written by Mr Boss Lennon on his own website, so are we to believe him & not the police?
.

the police? or media spin??

i believe mr lennon all day every day.

if trucks were abandoned, it would be rather simple to track down who was driving. no charges have been made apart from the driver in question. all trucks were found speed compliant by RMS. there is no story. its just a headline grabber and for all the truck haters, it worked a treat.

[graham7773]

I just read most of the posts in this thread and nowhere did I notice that anybody had seen the most recent news that the driver of the truck had Methadone in his blood and has now been charged with 3 counts of aggravated manslaughter. He is going to have a lot of time on his hands,On the question of speeding trucks, I drive the Pacific highway from Sydney to Queensland regularly. I have never done the drive without being overtaken dozens of times by semi's and b-doubles. I drive my car with cruise set at 107-ish kph. Trucks doing 150kph? Absolutely. Mostly on level sections and downhill runs. I never drive during the day, mostly from 10pm to 9am.
Regarding Methadone, I have known several people who use it and Heroin. They take it and pass out...Why would anybody take Methadone and drive a 50 or 60 tonne truck while using the crap? This guy needs an extended holiday at Her Majesty's Pleasure.

[sudszy]

Originally Posted by Charliewool

Did you write this 20 years ago Sudszy?
I mean, WHAT address in Coburg? And how long since you drove Melb-Syd?
It was 12 hrs back in Razor-back days... Easily done (legally) in 9 now.
(are you sure your name's not really Scrubby?)

So you are going to claim that a trucky can set off from a major collection point in melb and get to a depot in sydney in less than 12 hours and not exceed a speed limit, take rest breaks when they ought to......, you might also consider adding time the time the truckie spends getting to the actual loading depot and the loading time as well?(are you sure your real name isn't "woolovereyes"

[Charliewool]

Originally Posted by sudszy

So you are going to claim that a trucky can set off from a major collection point in melb and get to a depot in sydney in less than 12 hours and not exceed a speed limit......

Absolutely! (unless he's driving a bloody commer knocker)

I've done Laverton North to Yennora Wool centre (Guildford) in 8 and 1/2 hrs heaps of times.. and that was before Albury bypass.

Instead of taking my word, let's hear from Full Noise or GasOLane who do it for a job?

[something wrong]

Originally Posted by Charliewool

And how long since you drove Melb-Syd?
It was 12 hrs back in Razor-back days... Easily done (legally) in 9 now.
(are you sure your name's not really Scrubby?)

Agree i did it Easter last year in 9.5 hrs with driver swaps with the wife, breakfast at Maccas and a play for the kids, then two more 15min run around for the kids to stretch their legs and toilet stops.

[graham7773]

850km from Coburg Vic to Alexandria NSW. 20 or so towns/cities to drive thru at 50 or 60ks,. Various higher and lower speed limits 70 to 110, average speed of 70 kmph. 850/70=12.14 hours not accounting for legal rest stops. meals, and unforseen delays. Physical immpossibility to do the trip in 12 hours or less without speeding at some points. but I thought this thread was about a family being killed by a truck driver passing out on methadone?
Re doing the melbourne to Sydney trip in a truck, the rules state that the driver must take a minimum 1/2 hour break in 15 minute blocks so that adds another 1/2 hour to the trip. 12 hours in a truck can't be done legally and 9.5 hours would require excess speed as well considering rest stops and meal breaks.

[Charliewool]

Originally Posted by graham7773

850km from Coburg Vic to Alexandria NSW. 20 or so towns/cities to drive thru at 50 or 60ks,. Various higher and lower speed limits 70 to 110, average speed of 70 kmph. 850/70=12.14 hours not accounting for legal rest stops. meals, and unforseen delays. Physical immpossibility to do the trip in 12 hours or less without speeding at some points. but I thought this thread was about a family being killed by a truck driver passing out on methadone?

20 or so towns??? More like 3? Once past Kalkallo, from memory, next speed reduction is Woomargama (80kph) then Holbrook and Tarcutta (both 50s).

[b0son]

Originally Posted by sudszy

So you are going to claim that a trucky can set off from a major collection point in melb and get to a depot in sydney in less than 12 hours and not exceed a speed limit, take rest breaks when they ought to

When was the last time you drove that stretch? Its dual carriageway for almost the entirety now. Other than rest stops, you are doing 110 almost the entire time.

[Jim Goose]

Originally Posted by b0son

When was the last time you drove that stretch? Its dual carriageway for almost the entirety now. Other than rest stops, you are doing 110 almost the entire time.

110??? really... in your 100kmh limited truck???

[b0son]

Originally Posted by Jim Goose

110??? really... in your 100kmh limited truck???

When did I say I drove a truck?