Trucker hit with crash bill

A North Queensland truck driver must pay his employer more than half a million dollars after a court found he caused a serious crash when he answered his phone while driving.

Contract truck driver William Harold Austin Dowling was injured when the B-double he was driving veered off the Bruce Highway and rolled south of Ingham in September 2019.

Blenner’s Transport and

Truck Hire sued Dowling for $581,991 in damages after he lost control while answering the phone and crashed the truck.

Almost $40,000 worth of bananas were destroyed in the crash which also resulted in convictions for using a mobile phone while driving, failing to wear a seat belt and driving without due care and attention.

Judge Dean Morzone ordered Dowling pay more than $500,000 in damages to Blenner’s to cover the produce loss and for the damage caused to the truck and trailers.

In his defence Dowling claimed his judgment was impaired when he took the call due to fatigue, the lack of an integrated hands free device and his employer’s system of progress calls.

Further he argued he could have avoided the crash if the truck was not overloaded or unbalanced and had a functioning lane departure warning system. Court documents say Dowling was “stressed and frustrated” after a series of delays put him about four hours behind schedule.

CCTV inside the truck captures Dowling’s actions in the lead up to the crash and he is seen to pick up his phone and answer the call just before 10pm while his other hand remains on the steering wheel.

At the time he was travelling about 97 km/h. As Dowling answered his phone, court documents say, the truck veered to the left and hit a steep embankment.

Despite Dowling’s efforts he was unable to remedy the situation and the CCTV is lost as the truck rolls.

In his findings Judge Morzone said Dowling’s control of the truck was “severely compromised” when he answered the call and said his actions were the sole cause of the crash.

“The truck was on an unrecoverable collision course and it was impossible to right by the time (Dowling) looked up (from his phone),” Judge Morzone said.

“I do not accept that any factor other than (Dowling’s) neglect, default or misconduct by using the mobile phone, caused or contributed to the crash.

“(His) use of the mobile phone was illegal.”

Judge Morzone described the case as “unusual” and said “ordinarily” an employer was vicariously liable for the negligent criminal actions of its employees there was no barrier to a third party suing the employee directly.

Dowling was ordered to pay Blenner’s $545,312.25 plus interest and costs