Global Positioning System (GPS) was not the best traveling companion for the 49-year-old Ipswich truck driver who was led to Obi Obi Road, which is not fit for heavy vehicle access.
A tree was the only thing that stopped the truck driver from plunging to his death yesterday morning, when his semi-trailer rolled.
The 49-year-old Ipswich man managed to climb onto the truck and wait for emergency services as the trailer dangled several metres down an embankment off Obi Obi Road.
The driver had used a GPS to guide him from Brisbane to Kenilworth when the truck rolled on a gravel stretch of road.
Kenilworth Police Senior Constable Rob Watts said the driver had been unable to negotiate a turn while traveling down the road.
“If the truck hadn’t hit the tree it probably would have fallen 80 to 100 metres, so the driver is very lucky,” Snr Const Watson said.
He said the combined truck and cargo weight of paper plates was “fairly heavy” for use on a dirt road.
“It’s something the police and the Department of Transport will look into it further,” he said.
“A lot of people use GPS and it does take you the quickest way; it doesn’t necessarily take you the correct way.
“There is signage based at the bottom and the top of Obi Obi Road in relation to truck use on the road.”
Nambour fire station officer Fred Heiniger said the driver assisted crews in getting him down from the truck and was taken to Nambour General Hospital with minor injuries.
Police expected the road to be blocked into the night due to tow truck difficulty accessing the road.
A RACQ spokesperson has urged drivers to use a GPS as a guide, and not rely on navigation when it is more sensible to plan a route by referring to relevant maps prior to traveling.
“It should not reduce the driver’s responsibility to stay alert, especially when acting on voice instructions in the context of prevailing road conditions and traffic controls,” he said.
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