this is a good video for new truckies or truckers that have not been down a road like this before. but for truckers that have been driving for along time probly don't need to watch this video. Also people with caravans on the back of their car may find some of these tips helpful
Jhone Smith not so, we had a 30yr operator fail to select appropriate gear and had to diverge on to a fire track resulting in significant truck and trailer damage
I have heard of drivers being scared of being sacked if they use a safety ramp, I think it costs quite a bit to tow the truck out of the gravel pit. Drivers should not be punished for exercising sound judgement when using these safety pits, the alternative is disastrous if they cannot stop (as we have tragically seen).
really instructive video. heavy vehicle drivers are professionals and everything in this video should have been taught to them when getting their licence.
I did this road after a road trip from Sydney stopping 3 times along the 20 hour or so drive and the brakes on the ba falcon with 400,000kms died fairly quickly and I had to use the handbrake which by the end of the hill didn’t work anymore. On the uphill on the way home the car overheated (didn’t help that it was 5,000kms past due for a service) and it blew some hose and the coolant had drained itself. I drove the rest of the way home without any dramas besides smoke. Moral of the story don’t take a car with bad brakes, past due for a service by 5,000kms and has 400,000kms to start with down or up a major accent/deccent
Well regarding this hill I got sent an email from my employer that stated something about $20000 fines which I can't find in the legislation except for companies that refuse to nominate drivers. Perhaps it was in a subsequent email that got deleted but I can't find it. Even in the below Comments I see other truckies mentioning it. Anyhow this is what I got sent: New penalties apply to drivers of all heavy vehicles and buses who use the South Eastern Freeway down-track into Adelaide. The revised penalties recently passed by the South Australian Parliament better reflect community expectations, particularly around first offences, while maintaining strong penalties for repeat offenders who have chosen to disregard the law, putting themselves and other road users at greater risk. Trucks and buses limited to 60 km/h A maximum 60 km/h speed limit applies to all trucks and buses on the down-track of the South Eastern Freeway from the Crafers Interchange to the bottom of the freeway. Speed limits may be further reduced through variable speed limit signs or other temporary speed limit signs at any time to ensure safety. This may be due to inclement weather, reduced visibility or as a result of a crash or roadworks. When descending the South Eastern Freeway, truck and bus drivers must: *use a gear that is low enough to enable the vehicle to be driven safely without the use of a primary brake, and *not drive at a speed in excess of the relevant speed limit. Truck or bus drivers whose vehicles are not engaged in a low gear, as described above, or exceed the relevant speed limit by 10km/h or more will receive: When convicted by the court, a first offence will attract a maximum fine of $5,000, plus six demerit points and a licence disqualification of no less than six months. In addition there was all this shit about me going to gaol and by the time I/we get out I/we'll likely have an arse about the size of Wilpena Pound which doesn't apply to me per se, as mine's very roughly the size of the Grand Canyon because of all the motorists and self appointed bosses in the transport industry dry rooting me already: Second and subsequent offences will attract six demerit points and a licence disqualification of no less than 12 months (or no less than three years in the case of a subsequent offence) and up to two year imprisonment. You see this vid is actually incorrect about using the service brake "because it's illegal". Well it isn't (see link below): *The new low gear offence does not completely prohibit the use of the primary brake, if considered necessary in the circumstances. The law requires drivers to use a gear low enough to enable the vehicle to be driven safely without relying on the primary brake as the sole means to slow the speed of the vehicle on the descent.* dpti.sa.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/539349/DOCS_AND_FILES-15075824-v1-SE_Freeway_Heavy_Penalties_fact_sheet_030220.pdf So as usual conflicting information arbitrarily applied depending on which way the wind's blowing. On the one hand it says it's illegal to touch the effing thing on the hill and one thing on the other it says you can brake pedal as shown in the above Cut & Paste from the link. What is clear is that you MUST NOT USE THE BRAKE PEDAL AS THE PRIMARY MEANS OF SLOWING THE TRUCK.
Adelaide Metro buses used on the freeway automatically change down through the gears when the driver backs off the throttle and the transmission retarder activates. The transmission will then hold a particular gear as the driver cycles the retarder on and off with the accelerator. The primary brakes are not used during the descent.
I recently had some idiot who was doing about 30 kms in the left lane I’m coming 60 km which was the speed limit but a idiot was next to me doing the exact same speed down the hill I nearly collided with the truck doing 30 kms under !
Mountain around Adelaide, you wanna go into Adelaide City, you have to go down hill, or driving another 200kms to North of Adelaide, cost about 130L diesel, but still need to go down another hill.
is it true that some truck drivers don't use the ramps because they don't want to pay the $20,000 fee to tow the vehicle out and would rather take a chance
A truckie was fined for using his brakes descending this road recently. Why does such a dangerous road not have emergency stopping lanes? Why was such a dangerous design approved?
@@XaviRonaldo0 The issue is that if you end up in a safety ramp, the truck will automatically get inspected and likely defected which means that you may not be covered by insurance. The cost is then on the truck company and/or driver.
What went wrong with the trucks that dont make it is THE DRIVERS WERENT TRAINED TO DRIVE DOWN A MOUNTAIN its Not a HILL ITS A MOUNTAIN, I cant beleive some SMART PERSON Says its The RoAD, its Not the ROAD ITS THE DRIVER, THE GOV SHOULD BE TRAINING DRIVERS TO DRIVE DOWN A STEEP MOUNTAIN BEFORE THEY GIVE THEM A LICENCE AND THEY SHOULD BE NOT ALLOWING 24YR OLDS TO DRIVE INTERSTATE ON ROADS THEY HAVE NEVER DRIVEN ON BEFORE, PUT A TRAINED DRIVER AT THE TOP OF THE MOUNTAIN SO A TRUCK CAN SWAP DRIVERS AND A TRAINED DRIVER DRIVE THE TRUCK DOWN TEACH THE INEXPERIENCED DRIVER AND GET IN A CAR GO BACK UP TO THE TOP OF THE MOUNTAIN AND DRIVE THE NEXT ONE DOWN FOR A DRIVER THAT CANT DO IT FOLS.
IIRC it doesn't have to be trucks who need to use it. heavy 1.2 ton cars like a land cruiser might be okay to use ? as once you are stopped oyou can just reverse out
DPTI covers that cost - most drivers believe they have to pay so they don't use the arrester beds. This ends up costing the driver more than that - that costs people their lives, a driver their livelihood and more.....
For automatic gearbox, yes you can, but 18 speed road ranger gear box, you need to hit clutch once then back to neutral then turn rpm up with hit clutch again then engage into another gear, it takes 1 second to switch gear, but when you switch to neutral on that hill, engine rpm will quickly running out of range, you can up shift easy, but you never shift down gear. Only thing is quickly stop before truck brake failure then switch to right gear again.
Its all very well to know your vehicle but what if your a drug user or an imported driver from India ??? I've heard cops being harassed for being racist .
Ha what the hell, it's just a simple fact that the approach to Adelaide from the east involves coming down some significant mountains at the end. The freeway is actually a brilliant example of engineering and almost all crashes that have occured have been because of basic incompetence by the driver ignoring all the signs and requirements overheating their brakes.
"There is no toll booth" - it's not active, the toll booth is a historical building near the bottom of the freeway that's been preserved and is well known as a landmark at the bottom the freeway. It hasn't been actually used to collect tolls since the early colonial days 175 years ago.
