Truckie busts bad drivers

Date: 19.11.2010

Truck driver gets proactive in exposing bad driving, with the results prompting condemnation from police and industry

By Rob McKay | November 19, 2010

Victoria Police and the Victorian Transport Association (VTA) have slammed bad driver behaviour recorded by a truck driver and featured on social media website YouTube.

Compiled by a B-double driver, the vision includes typed running commentary on dangerous and illegal acts, not least from other truck drivers, in and around Melbourne and Geelong over the past three months.

The VTA has not been shy in the past in offering trenchant criticism of poor behaviour on the roads and the footage came as no surprise.

"I looked at the footage - what can one say?" Deputy CEO Neil Chambers says

"Everyone needs more education on sharing the road, and the full force of the law should be brought to bear on risk-takers and idiots, whether they are in charge of a motorbike, a car or a truck."

However, it appears the footage by itself is not enough to spark a police investigation.

"To take further steps regarding the driver behaviour shown in this clip, we require [the] person who has taken the footage to officially bring this to police attention," a police spokeswoman says.

"From there, police would undertake an investigation.

"This clip shows some of the outrageous driver behaviour which motorists engage in our roads. While this represents a minority of drivers, it shows that far too many people are willing to take significant risks when using and sharing roads."

The spokeswoman says police will increase their presence on roads across Melbourne and wider Victoria in coming months and will be targeting dangerous road behaviour.

"With a road toll significantly higher than last year, police are calling on the community to take action and drive responsibly at all times," the spokeswoman says, adding that it is the first time Victoria Police has seen the video.

"Police regularly use social media such as YouTube to investigate a number of matters, including unsafe road behaviour," she says.

The footage can be viewed here.