The South East in Freeway is one of the most difficult and challenging routes into Adelaide. It's a long, steep descent that doesn't give any room for error. The descent takes you to a major intersection, and if something goes wrong, the consequences can be deadly. The physical trauma, the multi-trauma that patients have suffered, has a result of these incidents, has been just extraordinary. Despite having done this job for 17 years, certainly some of the most significant carnage and most significant injuries I've seen as a result of these types of accidents. We can't stress enough that not only do we want the drivers of these vehicles to get home safely to their families, we want to make sure that all the other road users also do the same. What you've just seen and heard is extreme, but it can happen so easily on this stretch of road. If you're not prepared, things can get out of hand very quickly. Basically it's a long, steep descent, and you can quite easily pick up a lot of speed. If you pick the wrong gear, you start off speeding up and you try and use your foot breaks to slow you down, and you get to a point where once they get hot, they lose effectiveness and you then can no longer slow down. You will now take you through how to drive a heavy vehicle safely down the south-eastern freeway. You need to know your vehicle, how the load affects control and your braking systems. If you're a heavy loader, single or a B double, it's one of the as low as the bottom box, what we call the bottom right gears. You need to know your vehicle, know your weights, and a good judge is by judging the hills leading into the Adelaide hills. When you come up those hills, you'll realise how much you're slowing down. If you're slowing down quite considerably and selecting, say, 9th or 10th gear, then you need to be a couple of gears below that at least when you're coming down the hill. And you need to plan and make yourself familiar with the descent. Once you get to the Creefers exit, it's a continuous descent for about 7km to a major intersection. It's from this point that you must have your vehicle in a low gear. About 50 metres before the top of the hill, I'll use the incline to slow the vehicle up. When it pens out of the top of the crest, before I start my descent, that's when I need to be in the appropriate gear. Depends on the horsepower, it depends on the weight you're carrying with the MT, loaded on whatever. That determines what gear you're required to use before you start your descent. Activate your ancillary brake. Your engine, jake or exhaust brake, to control your speed without the need to use your foot or trailer brake. If you aren't in the right gear and you use your foot or trailer brakes, they'll overheat and you will not be able to slow or stop. I'm selecting my appropriate gear at the moment. I'm at the crest of the hill, so that's where it's very important to have the right gear. To be safe and to comply with the law, you must select a low gear before descending. Road rule 108 states when driving a truck or bus, you must use a gear that's low enough to limit your speed without using the foot brake. Your engine, jake or exhaust brake will help you stay in control. You're on a D-con. Basically, more importantly is the right gear, heavy and private gear, and then just put your engine bike on which controls the engine rigs. It says not a braking system, it's just there purely to control the rigs. Between craifers and just before the old Mount Barker exit, you must stay in the left lane and under the signed speed limit. You must follow the instructions on the signs. After the tunnels, it can look like the road is leveling off. It's not. It still has 4.2 kilometres to go at a 6% descent. Once you get down to the Glen Oysman overpass, the hill starts to level out flat and out a bit. You can actually wash off a bit of speed and you do naturally start slowing down as the hill is not as steep. You could be confused and think that, yeah, I'm safe here, I'm going to make it out because the vehicle started slowing down. You think your brakes are holding you and you will make it out. But once you get to the entrance to that bottom safety route, from there the hill drops off dramatically again, so you start picking up speed again. You need to stay alert and keep the vehicle in low gear the entire time. If you find you have not selected the correct gear, act quickly before you gain too much speed. When it's safe to do so, break to completely stop your vehicle and start the descent again. This time, selecting a lower gear. If you're not doing the right speed at the top of the hill, you've probably maybe got one chance straight away. If you realise you're not right and you need to probably come to a complete stop. One of the things I asked all our drivers, if you're in the appropriate gear and you're using your engine brakes, and all of a sudden half a day and the hill, the engine brake stops working. What will you do? I expect the nature is one firm application of the brake. Bring the vehicle to a stop, select second gear, and then just sneak on down and second gear. At five or six kilometres an hour where you've got complete control of the vehicle. Don't repeatedly apply and release your brakes. This will increase the brake temperature and make them ineffective. If you do feel like you're out of control or you're not sure you can stop, you must drive into a safety ramp. There are two safety ramps along the route. The first is just before the highs and tunnels about halfway down. The second is passed the tunnels at about 500 metres after the Mount Osmond overpass. They are clearly signposted and they are your only way out if you're going too fast to stop. If you look on the side and you've got a big white redboard of sign, and letting us know there's two emergency safety ramps ahead, and it's telling us to look for the signs. It gives you plenty of time for your plane to attack. The safety ramps are easy to use. The effect on the driver is less than emergency braking, so it shouldn't injure you, damage the vehicle, or shift a load. When entering the ramp, try to keep your wheels in a straight line, and you don't have to drive to the end. Stop when you can. The cost to remove the vehicle will be covered. Compared to the likely consequences of not stopping, this is your only option. If I was out of control, I would not hesitate to use the safety ramp. After all, that's what they designed. That's what they put in. They're designed to slow the vehicle, run away vehicle up. Once you realise you're in trouble, you just have to commit to using that safety ramp. Once you get past that bottom safety ramp, you then have no option, and it's downhill all the way into Adelaide, and there's probably going to be a serious accident and possibly fatalities. After the last ramp, you will soon see why you need to stay in control. The freeway ends at a major intersection, with Glen Osmond Road, Crossroad and Port Rush Road. It's here that you'll need your brakes to come to a stop. The brakes were still cold, on the duration of the 7% Brady, and I didn't have to brake at all. So my brakes were cold, and when the brakes were cold, they were very effective. So to recap how to safely descend the South Eastern Freeway, one, know your vehicle and know the route, two, it's a long and steep descent, and you must select a low gear early. Three, your engine, Jake or exhaust brakes will help you keep in control. Don't use your foot or trailer brakes, it's illegal, and they won't last the journey. Four, stay in the left hand lane. Five, if you commence the descent in the wrong gear, stop as soon as you safely can, and select the right gear. Six, use the safety ramps if you have any doubts about not being in control, or being able to stop your vehicle. Please, don't tackle this freeway if you're unsure about the safety of your vehicle or your driving ability. The consequences can be just too deadly. The road absolutely has to be respected. The physical size of these vehicles, they're mass. The amount of momentum they can actually develop as they're coming down the hill, you really have to have your stuff together to make sure you can get down safely. There's more information available on the internet, and most driving instructors will be able to take you for a refresher drive. Prepare and follow the rules to make sure you keep yourself and all other road users safe on the South Eastern Freeway. Thanks for watching.