State Govt ‘actively considering’ banning trucks overtaking on freeway
Transport Minister Tom Koutsantonis says the government is considering banning trucks from overtaking on the South Eastern Freeway – but a freight industry spokesman says the idea is unsafe and has been ruled out previously.
Koutsantonis was on ABC Radio Adelaide this morning when a caller raised the issue of trucks overtaking other trucks at low speed on the three lane freeway uptrack, forcing other road users in the 100km/h zone into a single lane.
The Minister said the issue was on the government’s radar.
“Yes, we are actively considering to stop overtaking via trucks on the freeway,” Koutsantonis said.
“We also think it’s a good option on the down track as well, because it could create the opportunity to avoid trucks that are out of control. It is something we’re actively considering.
“But again, this goes through a very, very detailed process of modelling, to make sure that there are no other unintended consequences, because we also don’t want queuing on the freeway, where there might be one truck causing considerable queuing.
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“So we’ve got to work out exactly, if this is feasible.”
But SA Road Transport Association executive officer Steve Shearer told InDaily an overtaking ban had already been considered – and dismissed – previously as part of an industry roundtable called after the latest accident caused by an out-of-control truck at the freeway’s bottom.
“My understanding is the Minister said he would ‘look at it’, but I’ve just checked with his office,” Shearer said.
“The simple reality is, it was looked at as part of the very extensive Round Table process that the Minister put in place two years ago after a major incident.
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“All of the options about safety on the South Eastern Freeway were looked at. The idea of not allowing overtaking, which would mean all trucks in the left-hand lane, and that would mean they’d all be travelling at the speed of the slowest truck, and the slowest truck would be a fully loaded 68 tonne B-Double doing somewhere between 20 and 25 km/h.
“If there’s one of those and the other trucks are all banking up behind it, what the very comprehensive traffic modelling that the experts in the department did, prove that that’s actually dangerous.
“The truck traffic would then bank up in that left hand lane all the way back past the opening to the main arrestor bed, which means that any truck that’s actually in trouble can’t get into the arrestor bed.
“It’s one of those things that on the face of it seems sensible if you don’t actually know anything about trucks, and the volume of trucks.
“If there’s only one or two trucks on the road it wouldn’t be an issue, but with the volume of trucks that are on the road, and will still be on the road until there’s a really good behind the Hills bypass, it is actually counterproductive and dangerous to put in an arbitrary thing such as [this].”
In a later statement provided to InDaily, a government spokesperson said: “The state government held a series of Roundtable Meetings with industry stakeholders in late 2022 to examine options for improving safety on the South-Eastern Freeway.”
“Several options were listed for further consideration by the Department for Infrastructure and Transport, including reducing the truck speed in left lane to 40km/hr between Crafers and the tollgate and engaging the low gear speed zone prior to Crafers,” they said.
“Modelling showed that peak hour queuing under the first option would block access to the existing lower safety ramp creating additional safety risk and intersection congestion as well as potential side swipe/rear end crash risk.
“The latter option is likely to result in congestion prior to descent.
“The Department is continuing to work through a range of potential improvements but these will always be considered in the context of potential unintended safety consequences.
“In the meantime, we are getting on with current freeway improvements, with the recently-announced additional $200 million from the state and Commonwealth governments towards the South Eastern Freeway Upgrade Project.”
