As life returns to normal as the lockdown to beat the coronavirus fades, we are again reminded of how sheer bad luck can cut life short in unexpected ways. For most young people, Saturday night is " party night " where they expect to have a good time and shed the stresses of the working week.
This Saturday night, a party of four young women were walking to one of the most popular Rugby League Clubs in Wollongong. It is right in the heart of the city and it fronts the busy main road which services traffic to and from Sydney.
They were walking on the footpath at about 10 pm when a car deviated off the carriageway, mounted the footpath and mowed them down before crashing into a telegraph pole. It was a scene of carnage, quickly reached by a police patrol who called ambulances.
Sadly, a nineteen year old girl suffered catastrophic head injuries and died on the way to hospital. Another 18 year old has a fractured pelvis and a third a broken leg. A fourth member of the group was lucky to escape harm.
The 18 year old male driving the car was arrested by police and taken to hospital for mandatory drug and alcohol testing, but the police also arrested his front seat passenger. It has been suggested that this passenger may have applied the car's handbrake, causing the car to lose control and mount the footpath
All this is conjecture, but will be investigated by the police accident branch who will prepare a report for the coroner. That allegation that the hand brake may have been applied does raise a valid safety concern that applies to most popular cars.
The age of the " bench seat " is long past and the majority of cars today come equipped with front bucket seats, and the hand brake is situated between them. Consequently, it is accessible by both the driver and the passenger.
The hand brake works by applying friction to the rear wheels of the car and its purpose is to immobilise the car when it is parked. It can be catastrophic if the hand brake is applied when the car is in motion because the rear wheels lock up, throwing the car into a skid.
From the car manufacturers point of view, locating the hand brake between the two front seats is with the expectation that it is a control available to the person driving the car. There is the perception that sanity will prevail and that passengers will not interfere with the driving function.
That may not be applicable if a passenger is intent in fooling around and lacks understanding of the brake function, or is in a rage and wants to exit the vehicle. If nothing else, this senseless death will at least throw attention on a hazard that is long overdue for attention.
Perhaps making the hand brake inoperative while the car is in motion may be an innovative safety requirement for the car design people to consider !
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