Mr Monahan's truck at the scene of yesterday's accident
POLICE yesterday praised the efforts of veteran truck driver Vin Monahan after he managed to keep his B-double combination upright after running off the road near Cobden in horrendous conditions.
Colac-based Mr Monahan, 63, was heading to Koroit to load milk powder.
At 1.25pm he was about six kilometres west of Cobden on the Warrnambool-Cobden Road when he came across a “greasy” patch of bitumen just before the series of S-bends.
He said the road surface was shiny, he lost control and the whole rig spun around on the slippery surface.
Mr Monahan said he was able to “feather” his brakes, steer away from a large gum tree and the trailers received only minor damage.
The truckie has been driving for Ballarat-based Sargeant Transport for three years after spending 30 years employed by Scotts of Mount Gambier.
“The road was that greasy we could hardly walk on it after the accident,” Mr Monahan said.
Cobden policeman Acting Sergeant Cameron Ross praised the efforts of Mr Monahan.
The driver said he had only been travelling at 80km/h before the accident due to the slippery road conditions.
“A lot of trucks have been running off roads down that way and I know why now,” Mr Monahan said.
“There was very little damage to the B-double, a bit on the front,” he said.
“I finished parked under a tree and we had to wait for a tow truck from Melbourne to pull out the prime mover. If I had dabbed straight on the brakes the outcome might have been a bit different.”
Mr Monahan said he had received excellent training over the years and there was nothing like experience to handle such a situation the best way possible.
