Fifty-six speeding truck drivers in just a few hours, all caught on camera: that's the bottom line. Like the taxi industry, a small proportion of bad apples ruins the reputations of all the professional, ethical truckies out there. Watch the story on video hereRead More
Headlines recently screamed 'Hyundai recalls 227,000 vehicles in Australia' ... only that's not exactly true. So, what is a recall, where do you find them, and what are some of the more dramatic ones we've seen in new cars over the past few years? Would this defect-rich list affect the choice of car you buy next? It probably shouldRead More
These recommendations came to light after an interview with 33-year veteran Victorian paramedic Jim Wilkins, conducted by John Cadogan during a car industry event.
In order:
Protect the scene. This means ensuring there is a safe zone in which to support the injured, protected from the path of passing traffic. Ideally a vehicle would be placed 50m back from the crash, with the ‘hazard’ lights activated. Additionally, safety triangles (or witches hats) may be set up even further back, and a sensible bystander (preferably wearing and/or waving a hi-viz vest) could be employed to warn approaching traffic, provided they can do it from a safe location. (Everyone should have at least one reflective hi-viz vest and two safety triangles in the car. A torch, especially a head torch, which leaves both hands free and directs light wherever you move your head, and a first-aid kit aren’t a bad idea, either.)
You must ensure that
Car crashes into rivers and dams are common enough. So are floodwaters. Here's what you do if it all goes horribly wrong on the road and when you look out the window, all you see is water.
Crashes that involve submerging have a higher death rate than head-on collisions. You might think this will never happen to you, after all, we live in the driest continent on earth. The 28-year-old Queensland mother whose car plunged into the Mulgrave River yesterday with her 10-month-old baby on board probably thought so, too. Luckily she was able to escape with the baby because, luckily, the car was not fully submerged.
Read MoreSpeed kills is coercion by stealth; a passive-aggressive attack on decent drivers. To advocate against it invites scorn. You appear to endorse anti-social behaviour … and risk being labelled a crackpot. Why not just wipe off five instead?
When road safety and PR collide, rational debate
