Dangerous Loads !

A B-Double loaded with Ammonia Nitrate was travelling the Mitchell highway from Queensland to South Australia when it rolled and caught fire.   Police, ambulances and two fire trucks raced to the scene and the driver was pulled from the wreck.   Immediately rescue crews learned of the dangerous cargo they retreated - but an immense explosion caused injuries, totally destroyed the low level concrete bridge under the truck, wrecked another adjacent railway bridge and reduced the remains of the truck and the rescue vehicles and was heard twenty miles away.

Ammonia Nitrate is an important agricultural fertilizer, but it is also used in the manufacturing of explosives - and is a favourite tool of terrorist bomb makers.  Usually, all that is necessary is the inclusion of diesel fuel to create an industrial grade explosive - and in this road crash the diesel fuel used by the B-Double and the Ammonia Nitrate could easily combine as both spilled onto the roadway.

Pictures on television give the extent of the blast.  It is similar to the weapons of war being used in Ukraine and the Middle East and the Mitchell highway will be closed for weeks, sending traffic on a 750 kilometre detour.   It also raises questions about the safety of cargos routinely transported across Australia on our highway system - and the threat they pose in this ever dangerous world in which we live.

How many other trucks loaded with similar materials are sharing the roads with packed tourist coaches and making their way through towns and cities as they cross state lines ?   We were lucky that this crash happened on a remote stretch of road which delivered no collateral damage - but a roll over or a collision with another vehicle can happen anywhere and should that occur in a densely packed suburb the death toll could be horrific.

We are constantly getting threats from terrorist organizations who promise to bring death and mayhem to our shores. Hijacking a B-Double with a single driver in charge would be a simple plan given that the journey involves nightly stop-overs and fuel and meal breaks.   We have laws in place that require some dangerous loads to travel with an escort.  Perhaps this massive explosion is a wakeup call.    When the Australian army moves munitions by road precautions are taken and when radioactive waste is moved from Lucas Heights to be shipped overseas roads are closed and police man all intersections.   Perhaps it is time to review the entire safety structure of the road transport system.