Great Northern Highway shut 150km south of Hedland.

The GNHighway was opened around mid-day to heavy haulage and it is expected to be open with caution for normal? traffic with speed restriction in place for the next two days, or until the carnage is cleared away.

If you are heading up that way this holiday break stay sharp, focused and above all else be aware of all heavy haulage ~ you will be mixing it with Cattle, Iron Ore, general freight road trains, the iron ore road trains run 24/7 mine to port these are all quads.

Safe travels : Joe

"Stay focussed" Good advice at anytime Joe but that's a message lost on most of our drivers.
For us holiday time is the time to stay off the roads as it's so dangerous being among all those other drivers determined to get where they're going as quick as poss. with no regard for others or even their own safety.
AlanH.

Alan, Joe, couldn't agree more.

Currently in the US where the posted speed limit on interstates varies - 65 or sometimes 70 (MPH that is). We try to avoid them so we can have a leisurely holiday and "have time to smell the flowers". When necessary to use them, we try to sit on the limit to avoid causing bottlenecks, but the locals are all doing 10-15 (again, MPH) over the limit, even in driving rain. Takes all our time to stay fosussed.

SWMBO reckons the posted figure is a LOWER limit.

Zippo what your saying doesn't surprise me at all.

the posted limit is merely a suggested speed over there - also applies to australia for some people out bush WAPOL often show pictures of radar with readings of 140- 150 kmph in a 110 zone.

Ones that are worse that showing 100 in 40 school zone excuse running late get kids to school !

Finally got decent rain in perth metro limited visibility earlier today even used my amber night time driving glasses (used in nordic countries for snow etc) some drove with no lights on and you only spot them when they on top of you.

I very nearly crashed into a cop during the evening with very heavy rain when I was bus driving. I was sitting waiting to turn right on Manning Rd into Bentley, watching for a break in the oncoming traffic, spotted a dark patch amongst the vehicles with their lights on..... started to turn and bugger me! It was a cop with no lights on!
He was damned lucky I'd only moved about a metre but he swerved to his left and turned his lights on.
I've never been happy with the training they get (and I live near the academy and see them all the time, probationers and supposedly skilled cop drivers) and don't reckon what little training they get is enough to counter what they learnt on dad and mum's (literally sometimes) over the years since birth.
I suspect it's on the job training mostly......
AlanTH

Only just found out, day before yesterday, when reading the Northern Telegraph in Port Hedland, as to the exact circumstances of this dreadful crash that claimed a Tom Price couples life.

They had apparently left Tom Price, heading North with their Landcruiser and caravan, and had come up behind a quad road train that was approaching the bridge.
There was a triple-trailer cattle roadtrain coming up behind the Landcruiser and 'van, as the quad road train and Landcruiser slowed at the bridge.
The cattle road train then ran into the back of the 'van that the Landcruiser was towing, shoving the Landcruiser to the right, out across the centreline, and into the path of an oncoming Prado and 'van.

The Landcruiser and Prado collided virtually head-on, and the Landcruiser rolled off the road and down an embankment.
The couple in the Landcruiser were both killed, while the Prado's occupants were seriously injured.

I'd have to say one cattle road train driver is going to be undergoing some major interrogation as to why he didn't stop in time.
Yes, I know big rigs take a long distance to pull up (I've owned a 100-tonne Drake float), and cars braking heavily in front of trucks is a known source of accidents - but regardless, I'd tend to think this cattle road train driver could be guilty of driving too hard and fast, and not looking far enough ahead.

The only other situation that I could see, that could have caused the crash would be if the Landcruiser overtook the cattle road train, slipped in between the quad and triple, then braked hard as he realised the quad was slowing down rapidly.

Cheers, Ron.