A Sydney based truck driver has shared his frustration after being fined $1636 for travelling too close to a truck and dog that he says pulled out right in front of him.
And he has the dashcam footage to prove it, with plans to take the fine to court.
As he plans to dispute the fine – which also comes with 4 demerit points – he’s requested not to be named.
A HC licensed truckie, he drives a semi fuel truck, making deliveries across NSW and the ACT.
He got into truck driving about five years ago after deciding on a change of career, and says he really enjoys the work. However, he was shocked to receive a fine in the mail for an incident that occurred on June 10.
As he explained, “I was on the Great Western Highway, at Little Hartley in the Blue Mountains, coming back from Bathurst.
“I was coming down River Lett Hill, on my way back to Sydney. It’s 40km/h down that hill, then at the last bend down the bottom, it goes up to 80km/h.”
He continued, “As I was approaching, I saw a truck and dog had pulled up to the side. Then he’s pulled out in front of me and I got done for being too close. It was right near a fixed speed camera.
“My boss and I have checked the dashcam footage and you can clearly see he’s pulled out in front of me. It was right where the speed went up from 40km/h to 80km/h.
“I braked as much as I could without putting too much pressure on the truck and apparently I was still too close. I believe there was still a safe difference.”
This truckie is no stranger to the area. He says he travels that route on a regular basis and was fully aware of the camera locations.
“Between Mount Victoria and Lithgow, there are four cameras. I travel there a fair bit and I know they’re there. But I think this fine is just ridiculous,” he said.
“The fine states that on a single lane road, for vehicles 7.5 metres and over, you have to have a spacing of at least 60 metres to the vehicle in front of you.
“I got onto RMS and according to them, from my front axle to the back axle of the truck in front of me, there was a 15.99 metre gap.
“My truck is only 13m long, so that’s more than a full truck length between me and that truck.
“A lot of people aren’t even aware this is a rule – the 60-metre gap definitely wasn’t on my test when I did my licence.
“At most, I would have expected it to be a caution but to receive a $1636 fine for it – if that’s not revenue raising, I don’t know what is.
“I have the option to dispute the fine or take it to court. I’m planning on taking this to court.”
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