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Bus Driver Crashed Into Montague Street Bridge (Read 981 times)
whiteknight
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Bus Driver Crashed Into Montague Street Bridge
Dec 17th, 2018 at 6:28pm
 
Bus driver who crashed into Montague Street bridge jailed for five years   Sad


17 Dec 2018. ABC News


A Ballarat bus driver who injured six people when he crashed his coach into the notorious Montague Street bridge in South Melbourne has been jailed for five years and three months.
Key points:

    The judge said it was astonishing Aston did not see the bridge
    He said the driver, not his employer, was ultimately responsible for the crash which injured six
    The driver will serve a minimum of two-and-a-half years in prison

Jack Aston, 55, was driving for Gold Bus Ballarat on February 22, 2016, when the front of the bus struck the base of the bridge, which had a three-metre clearance.

His vehicle was 3.8 metres high.

In October, a jury found Aston guilty of six charges of negligently causing serious injury.

The court heard there was a sticker on the driver's instrument panel indicating the height of the bus.

"Three of your passengers saw the bridge. How it is that you did not, is astonishing," Judge Bill Stuart told Aston during sentencing.

"Why you were so grossly inattentive is unknown to me.

    "Driving an 11-tonne bus with 14 passengers and failing to observe any of the warnings … is itself in my view a serious example of this offending."

Emergency crews work to free passengers from the bus which is wedged under the bridge.
Photo: Six passengers were injured in the crash. (Twitter: Metropolitan Fire Brigade)

Judge Stuart noted that Gold Bus founder Donald McKenzie had taken responsibility for not warning Aston of driving conditions in that area.

Mr McKenzie told a plea hearing in the County Court last week Aston had been "let down by the company". 

"I'd like to apologise on behalf of the company to the six passengers who were injured.

"I'd also like to apologise to Jack and his family who have been put through the mill," Mr McKenzie said.

But the judge said Aston was ultimately responsible.

"Employers cannot be blamed for [the] obvious failings of employees."

The plea hearing last week was told Aston, an experienced driver, was "confused" and had failed to see numerous warning signs over a 300 metre stretch of road.

But the judge rejected these assertions from his defence team.

"I don't know how you could possibly have been confused," Judge Stuart said.

The judge pointed out that one of the warning signs along the route was a height sensor which triggered red flashing warning lights.

Aston had dropped off passengers at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre and was taking others to a hotel on St Kilda Road when the crash occurred.
)

The court heard it took 48 seconds for Aston to drive less than 300 metres from a traffic intersection on Munro Street to the bridge.

The bus was travelling at 56 kilometres per hour at the time of impact.

At the plea hearing, Aston's lawyer, Richard Edney, spoke of the "history of a bridge that is so damning and so extensive" that meant there were "lurking dangers" for drivers in that area.

"It is a bridge built in the 19th century trying to do work in the commercial, industrial world of the 21st century."

Mr Edney was also critical of the road design.

A few months after the accident, VicRoads installed rubber flaps on an overhead gantry to warn drivers of the bridge's low clearance.

Judge Stuart ruled Aston would serve a non-parole period of two-and-a-half years.
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whiteknight
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Re: Bus Driver Crashed Into Montague Street Bridge
Reply #1 - Dec 17th, 2018 at 6:52pm
 
With the high number of accidents over the years at this bridge.  Would it not be a good idea to fix this bridge before it happens again?.  There must be something very wrong, with the number of times either a truck or bus, has crashed into this dangerous low bridge.  Yes you can be sure, it will happen again.   Sad      
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Bobby.
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Re: Bus Driver Crashed Into Montague Street Bridge
Reply #2 - Dec 17th, 2018 at 7:56pm
 
whiteknight wrote on Dec 17th, 2018 at 6:52pm:
With the high number of accidents over the years at this bridge.  Would it not be a good idea to fix this bridge before it happens again?.  There must be something very wrong, with the number of times either a truck or bus, has crashed into this dangerous low bridge.  Yes you can be sure, it will happen again.   Sad      



A very good idea.
The sentence was harsh but the driver was an idiot.
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whiteknight
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Re: Bus Driver Crashed Into Montague Street Bridge
Reply #3 - Jan 24th, 2019 at 4:45am
 
Montague Street bridge strikes again after lying dormant for 224 days   Sad

23 January 2019
The Age


Melbourne's notorious Montague Street Bridge claimed another victim on Tuesday, with a truck becoming wedged at midday.   Sad

The three-metre high light rail bridge in South Melbourne has been hit dozens of times over the years but this is the first of 2019.

Local worker Dennis Harry has witnessed several incidents at the bridge. He said the driver appeared “dazed but alright”.


“The bang made me turn around and I saw him grind under and come to a halt,” he said.


“The whole back was wobbling and crumbling.”

Electronic height-detection gantry was installed at the bridge in 2016, and there have been 14 crashes since.  There are 26 signs warning of the bridge's clearance height.

A site counting the time since the last hit suggests the 224 days accident-free run may be a personal best for the affectionately dubbed “Monty”.

VicRoads said the bridge had been hit once in 2016 following the gantry installation, three times in 2017 and three times in 2018. Wednesday's strike is the first since June 13, 2018.

Mr Harry said the new signage has prevented “stacks of accidents”.


“I can’t even count the number of times I’ve seen trucks drive under and hit [the gantry] and then stop and turn around,” he said.   Sad

“To drive under without noticing all that, you’d have to be doing something else.”

A bus driver who hit the bridge in 2016, injuring six passengers, was jailed last month and is requesting more time to appeal the length of his five-year sentence.

VicRoads expressed frustration that drivers continued to ignore the warning signs, pointing out that the gantries are fitted with rubber ‘paddles’ that strike over-height vehicles to warn drivers to take the nearest exit.

"Bridge strikes are dangerous and result in frustrating delays and congestion on our road network," said VicRoads spokeswoman Fatima Mohamed.

"Height detection gantries and warning signs have successfully reduced the number of strikes on the Montague Street bridge, but it is the responsibility of drivers to be aware of the height of their vehicle and plan journeys accordingly."

   
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