While every few weeks there seems to be news of yet another caravan accident on Australian roads, all too often the details of what actually caused the crash are never properly publicised.
This, of course, is not the case when there is a death involved and there may well be lessons to be learned from a five-day trial which has just concluded in South Hedland District Court.
Well-known pastoralist, Kimberly Thomas De Pledge, 49, has been found guilty of dangerous driving, after his loaded cattle truck slammed into a caravan, killing two people on a remote West Australian highway in June, 2017.
The ABC reports that the jury was shown footage of the moment the truck clipped the back of the caravan, pushing it and the LandCruiser towing it into oncoming traffic near a bridge on the Great Northern Highway, 165km south of Port Hedland.
It was alleged De Pledge failed to slow down for roadworks on the bridge.
The crash killed Mark and Lara Dawson, who were on their way to Broome on a family holiday. Their children Jack, 16, and Larissa, 14, survived.
The court heard De Pledge was driving a truck loaded with 180 cattle from Hooley Station to be exported from Broome.
The ABC reports that defence lawyer Sam Vandongen told the court the roadworks at the Coonarie Creek crossing caused the incident.
Speed limits around the site had decreased from 110kph to 80km/h to 60km/h, but a number of the signs warning of the reduced speed limit were lying flat on the road, the court heard.
Dash-cam footage from a four-trailer road train carrying iron ore that was driving ahead of the Dawsons and De Pledge showed two roadworks signs lying flat on the left side of the road.
De Pledge testified that he immediately applied his engine brakes as soon as he saw the caravan 500 metres ahead of him after he came around a bend in the road.
“The van was closer but not anything astounding, I started to decline my trailer brakes just gradually,” he said. “From there everything seemed under control, I thought we were rolling through.”
The ABC reports that De Pledge told the court he was 250 to 300 metres behind the caravan when its brake lights came on and said he was ‘definitely not’ expecting it.
He tried to apply all the brakes to bring the truck to a halt.
De Pledge said he decided to try and steer around the Dawsons’ vehicle instead of taking his truck down the built-up embankment of the bridge, but had to wait for oncoming traffic to pass.
“I panicked because the car was in front of me, [it] just seemed to be there and wouldn’t go away.
“I was waiting and waiting for the Prado to come pass… I hit the van.”
The ABC reports that the Toyota Prado travelling in the opposite direction hit the LandCruiser, which had become separated from the caravan. The LandCruiser rolled and came to rest next to the creek on the opposite side of the highway.
The cattle truck continued along its path and smashed into the detached caravan, which hit the rear of the iron ore truck and exploded.
In his closing statement, prosecutor Ben Stanwix said the size and weight of the cattle truck — which was a total of six separate licenced vehicles — was one of the major factors that elevated the circumstances.
“The whole point of keeping an adequate distance is to be able to respond to things like that on the roadway,” he said.
The ABC reports that the jury of 10 men and two women found De Pledge guilty of two counts of dangerous driving causing death. He remains on bail ahead of his sentencing in Perth on October 30.
Can fully understand the angst of truckies with regard to slow caravans, the anger of vans with tailgater trucks. Have travelled thousands of k’s and for 30 years in a van. When you see a truck approaching from behind, get on the CB and inform him that you have seen him and will pull over when able to. They will respect you and acknowledge your intentions. The major cause of slower vans is the state of the roads especially in NSW and Qld.Have just returned from outback Qld (Gulf) and from Wagga via the Newell Hwy. The newell from Moree to Narrabri, Coonabarrabran and beyond can only be described as dangerous, with patched sections and furrows in the road. A van cannot travel at 90 to 100k safely as the continuous bucking of the tow vehicle and van does not allow this. The government solution is to install a sign saying “rough road ahead, slow down”. Your vehicle gets in one set of tracks and the van in the other and tends to pull you one way or the other. The solution is vastly better roads and more passing lanes.