Another fatality

[YellowDog]

So, if your driveway out in the boondocks (or wherever for that matter) happened to be where there are double yellows you would have to either (1) relocate your drive entry/exit to a more appropriate segment of the road (any my guess is that possibly the driveway was there before the double yellows were painted, but i could be wrong) or (2) never go into your drive.

Interesting options.

An agricultural vehicle is there to do some work. IME - They don't generally use the tradional road lines.

We have no idea as the the actual facts and can only speculate. If the tractor had a rear end attachement (as reported) the indicator signal (whether used or not) may not have been visible and the tractor may have appeared to be stationary.

My view is that at 50 years old, most are generally a bit more responsible which makes me suspect there may be other unknown factor which may have contributed to this terrible accident.

e.g. Over brow of hill and not breaking speed limit. See stationary tractor too close. Not safe to pass. Brakes. Lose control on mud. Bang.

There doesn't have to be a blame attached to this terrible accident.

[duckonin]

you're still a dick.

Would that be big or small ?

[MSTRS:Me]

... plenty of clear vision and plenty of last minute choices to be made.

Clear vision...yes. For quite some distance ONCE over the brow.
Last minute choices...not plenty...3. Go left. Go right. Brake to a stop.

Going left can be fraught with danger due to road-edge conditions.
Legally speaking, going right could be 'dodgy' due to the yellow line ON HIS SIDE OF THE ROAD. Forget the double...makes no difference. Patrick can correct me if wrong - I believe one can cross the yellow to pass a stationary vehicle, but onus would be on passing vehicle not to do so in the face of oncoming traffic.
Braking to a stop isn't always possible due to speed/distance to react - despite the law about 1/2 the clear distance ahead etc.

We can only speculate as to why the rider chose to go right. But in this case it was the wrong choice.

Maybe we are feeling a tad annoyed with the tractor driver as from what i have read, he was turning right over double yellow lines - normally placed for a good reason?

No law against turning across yellow/s into a driveway.
Yellow ON YOUR SIDE means don't cross to overtake/travel straight ahead. Except possibly passing a stationary vehicle.

[T.W.R]

Unfortunately the rule of thumb is if you hit a vehicle from behind you're in the wrong

The most possible cause is familiarity breeds contempt.... how often do you travel a piece of road and approach a blind crest without backing off a bit ? , you never know what's going to be over the rise

If the tractor & implement had been stationary at the side of the road before making the turn into the driveway (which is the generally accepted rule of thumb because of their size), it takes a fair distance to get a big machine upto speed from a standing start and negotiating a driveway enterance can't be done at speed with a big implement trailing behind (especially if it's a heavy item).

Enterances on busy roads require turning bays ( When I was contracting our yard was on SH1 right at the end of passing bays with a double yellow centre line, we had to move our gateway x meters back from the roadside and clear a turning bay opposite the enterance and clear any thing that would obstruct our view of the road when trying to leave the yard)

Dependant on size and usage tractors require either a WOF or COF and RUC . Most Tractors piss all over 30km/h (the 30km/h restriction is for using certain tractors on a class1 licence), some can nudge upwards of 70km/h at full noise .

Either way you have to feel for the loss of the rider because it would have been a grizzly end and have to feel for the tractor driver because he would have seen it unfold and wouldn't been able to do anything about it (just the same as a train driver hitting a vehicle, you just can't stop or move a big machine quickly)

[MSTRS:Me]

Entrances on busy roads require turning bays ( When I was contracting our yard was on SH1 right at the end of passing bays with a double yellow centre line, we had to move our gateway x meters back from the roadside and clear a turning bay opposite the entrance and clear any thing that would obstruct our view of the road when trying to leave the yard)

This was on SH3 between NP and Waitara...it's reasonably busy most of the time. But a farm driveway probably doesn't meet the criteria for vehicle movement in/out to necessitate such widening etc.

[T.W.R]

This was on SH3 between NP and Waitara...it's reasonably busy most of the time. But a farm driveway probably doesn't meet the criteria for vehicle movement in/out to necessitate such widening etc.

True that it isn't a mandatory thing for the average cockie to do, but the majority are fully aware of the area needed to maneuver large implements so make allowances at their yard gateways and access to roadside paddocks.
We were in a slightly different situation being a contracting business and on some occassions leaving or arriving back at the yard we'd have the tractor, implement, work ute & mobil tanker all hitched together which took up a hell of a lot of space and a lot of time to get mobil from stationary.
Some implements are so big that rearward vision is totally obstructed so you have to get off the road before commiting to turning

[breakaway]

It clearly states in the roade code that on the open road, pull over to the left before making a RH turn (drive way, side road). I've done many open road miles by car, bike and truck and see it every week. Funnily enough the cops don't seem to police it, motorists don't know about it, LTSA don't give a shit, maybe this issue doesn't pull the heart strings like the speeding/drink driving/seatbelt billboards do.

Doesn't it also state that when riding/driving on the open road, you must be able to stop within the visible distance up ahead, and if it's a road without a center line then you must be able to stop within half of the visible distance ahead?

So technically, this crash, and all those other people who got hurt / killed by u-turning cops etc could and should have been avoided. But no one I have ever seen ever slows down before the brow of a hill to ensure there is nothing waiting on the other side.

[avgas]

Slow the fuck down.

Fucking sad when shit like this happens.

It does not matter how skilled you are (or think you are).....Just slow the fuck down.

Shit like this is easily avoidable.

[MSTRS:Me]

Avgas - not saying you're wrong to advise slowing down, but you say that as though speeding was the cause of this latest death.
How do you know it was?
Just as likely he was 'not paying attention'.
Or he was, but the tractor driver wasn't.
Or moved once the bike was committed.
Or...or...or...

[Grubber]

Clear vision...yes. For quite some distance ONCE over the brow.
Last minute choices...not plenty...3. Go left. Go right. Brake to a stop.

Going left can be fraught with danger due to road-edge conditions.
Legally speaking, going right could be 'dodgy' due to the yellow line ON HIS SIDE OF THE ROAD. Forget the double...makes no difference. Patrick can correct me if wrong - I believe one can cross the yellow to pass a stationary vehicle, but onus would be on passing vehicle not to do so in the face of oncoming traffic.
Braking to a stop isn't always possible due to speed/distance to react - despite the law about 1/2 the clear distance ahead etc.

We can only speculate as to why the rider chose to go right. But in this case it was the wrong choice.


No law against turning across yellow/s into a driveway.
Yellow ON YOUR SIDE means don't cross to overtake/travel straight ahead. Except possibly passing a stationary vehicle.

Plenty of vision....as in you need to slow down on a crest as your stopping distance becomes less. Once done that you would have the choices. But you are right...we don't know for sure what the circumstances were.

[Patrick]

Maybe we are feeling a tad annoyed with the tractor driver as from what i have read, he was turning right over double yellow lines - normally placed for a good reason?

Unsure what the connection is here. One can turn across yellow lines to go into your drive, side street, whatever. They are no passing lines..... If it was stationary and you aren't impeding oncoming traffic, one can cross momentarily.... but that wasn't the case....

....speeding was the cause of this latest death.
Just as likely he was 'not paying attention'. Or...or...or...

Amended. That looks better......

[MSTRS:Me]

Amended. That looks better......

Please don't go putting words in my mouth...
I wasn't there (even if you were - afterwards) but I'm not prepared to put it all on the rider. At least not until it is proved he was speeding (and I don't mean just a couple of kms over)

[imdying]

luck and can disappear in a instant

Isn't that the truth... fortunately, experience and risk mitigation skills do not.

Given that, I know which one that Katman is going to rely on. And I know who is more likely to be better for it

[avgas]

Avgas - not saying you're wrong to advise slowing down, but you say that as though speeding was the cause of this latest death.
How do you know it was?
Just as likely he was 'not paying attention'.

Multiple causes I agree - however if you decrease one, the others have more leeway. This is why the rest of us aren't biting harvesters. Fact of the matter was he was not in his game - its a bit easy to avoid a tractor.....imagine what would have happened if a car had crossed the center line?

Or he was, but the tractor driver wasn't.
Or moved once the bike was committed.

Not known to move fast - also rather difficult to "swing around" with a good ton of Harvester on the back.

Note I never said he was speeding. But clearly he was going too fast for him to manage.

[rastuscat]

It clearly states in the roade code that on the open road, pull over to the left before making a RH turn (drive way, side road).

That practise is a nightmare waiting to happen.

In the 90's I came across a nasty crash in the Mamaku's. A car had puled over to the left to let cars go past before he turned right. Trouble was he didn't see the bike coming from behind, and turned across his path. I was cradling the riders head in my arms when the ambos arrived. He lived but is munted for life.

No wonder people don't do it.