The Pinnaroo operation was acquired as a concern by Mitolo in 2007. The operation, that included farming land and plant and equipment, was purchased from a person by the name of Mason. Mitolo acquired a number of properties in the Pinnaroo area including a property over the border in Victoria. Mitolo operated a cool room in the Pinnaroo township. There was also a workshop situated on one of the properties. On another property named Midway there was a shed in which plant was housed. Included in the plant acquired from Mason’s were two prime movers, one of which was the prime mover that was involved in the fatal accident. It was registered SA BBK-859. Also acquired were two tautliner trailers. One of the tautliners was that involved in the fatal accident, namely trailer registered number SA YCS-180. The other tautliner would be converted into a flatbed trailer, registered number SA When Mitolo acquired the Pinnaroo operation from Mason’s they also acquired the services of a number of Mason’s employees. These persons included Mr Venning, a Mr Peter Redden, a Mr Graham Phelps and the Manager to whom I have already referred, Mr Simon Samon. Those four persons became employees of Mitolo in various capacities. I have already mentioned the fact that Mr Venning was a general farm hand. His duties included the driving of the semi-trailer or trailers that were situated in the Pinnaroo area. Most of his driving responsibilities were carried out locally. Mr Peter Redden was also a truck driver who had driven semi-trailers for Mitolo but who more recently had elected to curtail his driving responsibilities. Mr Phelps was the workshop manager who had responsibility for the maintenance of the Pinnaroo operation’s plant and equipment that included responsibility in relation to the maintenance of vehicles. For the most part mechanical work that was required in respect of the prime movers was outsourced to a qualified and professional mechanic such as Tatiara Truck and Trailers in Bordertown. Although from time to time Mr Phelps undertook some responsibility in relation to the adjustment of trailer brakes, he was not a qualified mechanic,. During the Pinnaroo harvesting period, which included the month of January, produce harvested from the Pinnaroo properties would generally be transported by Mitolo owned B-Doubles, driven either from Virginia or from the Riverland to the Pinnaroo area where they were loaded. Mitolo operated a number of B-Double combinations
I will come to what has been proposed in a moment, but it is as well to record here that since the incident in August 2014, changes designed to improve safety on the freeway have included the following: All heavy vehicles with a gross vehicle mass of 4.5 tonnes or over, regardless of the number of axles, are subject to a 60 kilometres per hour speed limit on the down track of the South-Eastern Freeway. This has also involved the reduction of the speed limit for light vehicles from 100 kilometres per hour to 90 kilometres per hour. It also involves an obligation that all heavy vehicles remain in the left lane from the Crafers Interchange to the vicinity of the Measdays Bridge; A Government publication entitled ‘The Right Gear’ has been updated. The document outlines the requirement for drivers of heavy vehicles to adhere to Rule 108 of the Australian Road Rules insofar as it applies to the down track of the South-Eastern Freeway. This document has been distributed to various industry stakeholders, including the South Australian Road Transport Association, with a view to reminding transport operators and drivers of this legal obligation. The document has also been distributed to drivers in the Monteith heavy vehicle checking station during operations conducted there since 1 September 2014; The portion of the down track of the South-Eastern Freeway to which Rule 108 applies has been extended; New signage and road markings that emphasise the Rule 108 obligation have been implemented. The new signage includes the renaming of arrester beds to safety ramps. The signage is also said to involve the transmission of information about the position of safety ramps; A national information campaign using road authorities and peak industry organisations to promote adherence to Rule 108 has been implemented; The distribution of a new brochure to South Australian licensed heavy vehicle and bus drivers in relation to the requirement to use low gear on the freeway descent has occurred; has been vegetation removal from around safety ramps for improved line of sight for drivers;
OPTION TERM OPTIONS OBJECTIVES OF OPTION NEXT STEPS & TIMEFRAME Infrastructure 4. DPTI cover costs of removal from the arrester bed. This may reduce perceived barriers to using the arrester beds. Option includes the department funding the recovery of heavy vehicles from an arrester bed, and if required, towing to the department’s vehicle inspection centre. Require change in legal delegations. 5. Change the name of ‘Arrester Bed’ Amend existing signs to use an alternative term (such as ‘Safety Ramp’) rather than arrester bed. There is anecdotal evidence that some road users do not appreciate the purpose of ‘Arrester Beds’. ‘Arrester Bed’ terminology is used in other places in Australia. Could be implemented in 2 months and should be in conjunction with safety ramp education campaign and change in signage. 6. Improve signage along South East Freeway and Dukes Highway. To complement the ‘The Right Gear’ Education Campaign. Signs for ‘Trucks and Buses must use low gear’ were improved on 8 October 2014. The steep grade warning between the Union Quarry (arrester bed) and Glen Osmond has been reinforced by new signs. Could be implemented quickly and should be in conjunction with change in education campaign and change in safety ramp name. 7. 40 km/h for trucks and buses for entire descent to get them into the right gear and left lane for some or all of the descent (& review the speed of light vehicles). Reduce the current 60 km/h limit for trucks and buses to 40 km/h. All trucks and must use left lane at least to Measdays (as exists), or for the full descent. Would cause trucks and buses to slow to more appropriate speed and gear prior to decent. An alternative to mandatory stopping lanes prior to the decent. The potential of higher speed differences between cars and trucks needs careful consideration. Need to consider issues with preventing a 40 km/h truck from overtaking a 20 km/h truck (both in their ‘right gears’). Options for the purpose of discussion at the SE Freeway Industry Stakeholder Workshop, 10 October 2014.
South Eastern Freeway Industry Stakeholder Workshop Long Term Options OPTION LONG TERM OPTIONS OBJECTIVES OF OPTION NEXT STEPS & TIMEFRAME Infrastructure 18. Implement a Safety Stopping Station before the descent into Adelaide. Construct a dedicated area at Crafers that trucks and buses must enter and stop at a signal / boom gate, before proceeding down the descent in the right gear. This option would be very costly (many millions), involving major infrastructure works and possibly one or two new bridges. The geometry of this option is challenging and may not be feasible on the freeway. Initial traffic modelling completed. Using the third lane under the Crafers Bridge is unlikely to be feasible, as initial modelling is showing that trucks and buses would queue past the start of the lane and possibly past the Crafers exit, presenting a new safety problem. Detailed scoping, design and costing will be undertaken by the end of March 2015. 19. Intersection upgrade at Cross Road / Portrush Road and Glen Osmond Road. Options such as: lane reallocation and widening; or construction of a bridge over or under Portrush and Cross Roads to remove the traffic signals from the end of the freeway. All options incorporating an arrester bed or other safety treatment. Identified in the draft Integrated Transport and Land Use Plan (ITLUP). Further scoping and investigations are required. Options for the purpose of discussion at the SE Freeway Industry Stakeholder Workshop, 10 October 2014.
OPTION LONG TERM OPTIONS OBJECTIVES OF OPTION NEXT STEPS & TIMEFRAME Infrastructure (cont’d) 20. Weigh-in-motion (WIM) to allocated speeds for particular vehicles. This option would weigh trucks and buses without stopping them, and display an allocated speed for the vehicle, (not exceeding the signed truck / bus speed limit). This option could work in conjunction with the Safety Stopping Station. The allocated speed may be enforceable or advisory. Allocated speeds would assume roadworthy vehicles. Feasibility needs to be assessed. Further scoping and investigations are required. 21. Intelligent Information System that can detect out of control trucks and manage through on-road information and links to the Traffic Management Centre. Inputs into the system could include - Speed, mass, number of axles, brake temperatures, tyre and other temperatures, vehicle stability, retardation capacity, in- vehicle fleet management systems, vehicle to vehicle and vehicle to infrastructure communications. Further scoping and investigations are required. 22. Construction of a arrester bed. Assess feasibility of whether a third arrester bed can be implemented within the geometric constraints with sufficient length, and whether it would be operationally feasible with typical traffic patterns, queuing, retrieval, etc. Assess land impacts and costs by the end of December 2014.