06-28-2009, 07:04 PM
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#49 (permalink)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BanningZ
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BanningZ
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BINGO!
Plea to close loophole after crash of overloaded car
Quote:
HE RACV has urged that a legal loophole be closed to ban overcrowding in cars after a Mitsubishi Lancer crammed with eight young people smashed into a pole in Clayton early yesterday.
Six men and two women, aged between 18 and 25, were in the two-door car when it veered off the Princes Highway about 12.40am, jumped a median strip and smashed into a pole. The car has five seatbelts.
The 20-year-old female driver, who, with two others, was critically injured, is believed to be a learner. Police are investigating if speed or alcohol contributed to the crash.
As investigators called the overcrowding "sheer stupidity", Chief Commissioner Christine Nixon said that as long as all the car's seatbelts were being used, overloading was not a crime.
"It's not an offence," she told 3AW. "It's the number of seatbelts. I think it's four or something in this car, and if those people had seatbelts on, no, it's not an offence."
But the RACV's general manager of public policy, Brian Negus, urged the State Government to ban overloading in cars. "There is clearly a loophole … and this should be fixed as a matter of urgency," he said. "The concept of having more people in a car than there are seatbelts is unacceptable."
Roads Minister Tim Pallas said national road rules were already in train that would prohibit passengers from vehicles without wearing a seatbelt. "We will work to have these seatbelt laws introduced in Victoria as soon as possible," he said.
Jennifer Chapman, 20, was thrown clear of the car. She suffered two broken feet, a lacerated liver, two amputated toes and possible spinal damage.
Her mother, Susan Watts, said she was stunned that Jennifer would get into a car so overloaded. "My first reaction, which is the wrong reaction, was, 'What the hell were you doing getting eight people in a car?'," Ms Watts said. "She said, 'Because I couldn't get home otherwise, I'd have to stay in Dandenong'."
Ms Watts said Jennifer, who lives in St Albans, might have been going to a party in Clayton. Ms Watts did not know any of the other people in the car.
"As the police and ambos say, it's amazing that anyone got out alive," she said.
Firefighters had to cut four people from the wreckage. A policewoman drove an ambulance while paramedics worked to save the driver's life.
John Del Nigro, who lives opposite the crash site, ran outside barefoot to help the injured trapped in a car he likened to "a game of Twister".
"Two of them had already been thrown out of the vehicle and another person was halfway outside and I pulled him out unconscious," he said.
The driver and two others are in The Alfred hospital. Less seriously injured passengers were taken to three other hospitals.
Most of the occupants of the car are believed to be Sudanese.
In the past six years, Victoria Police has run road safety training courses for recent African migrants.
Senior Constable James Waterson, multicultural officer for the Dandenong region, said recent initiatives included a 13-week training course.
He said people under 25 usually accounted for half the students and were "more than keen to make sure they are doing the right thing and getting their licence and complying with the road rules".
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What's scary/sad about this accident is that there were 8 people inside the car when the accident happened 
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