A Cowra man has been convicted and fined for not wearing a seatbelt and other charges when he faced Cowra Local Court on Wednesday, August 3.
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Robbie Daniel Crouch (34) of Dungaleer Street, Cowra plead guilty to the charges of driving with a passenger older than 16 not restrained, driving while not wearing a seatbelt, driving with a passenger in or on part of the vehicle where not permitted and negligent driving.
Appearing before magistrate Jillian Kiely, Crouch was convicted and fined $362 for driving with an unrestrained passenger who wasn't wearing a seatbelt.
He was convicted and fined $362 for driving while not wearing a seatbelt.
Crouch was also convicted and fined $362 for driving with a passenger in part of the vehicle where not permitted.
He was convicted and fined $880 for negligent driving.
Crouch was also charged with not recording required information after starting work and not recording prescribed information in written work diary.
Both of these charges were dismissed without conviction under Section 10A of the Crimes Act.
Crouch's solicitor said in court that he was driving short runs on the day the incident occurred and had stopped to have lunch with two other people before they jumped in the truck with him.
Crouch, the solicitor said, made full admissions to police on the day regarding the seat belt offences.
Crouch has since completed the traffic offender's program.
In reference to Crouch's driving record, Magistrate Kiely said she has seen better driving histories but most of Crouch's offences occurred when he was younger, before becoming a professional driver.
Magistrate Kiely noted that Crouch and the police each had a different version of the facts in relation to the negligent driving charge.
Magistrate Kiely said that fortunately there were only minor injuries sustained in the accident and that the negligent driving charge was made more serious due to the lack of seatbelts being used.
According to police documents tendered in court, Crouch was driving a heavy vehicle containing a tipper truck towing a dual axle converter dolly with a tri axle tipper trailer attached via a coupling on Sunday, February 13, 2022.
Crouch, police said, was driving along Frogmore Road, Hovells Creek, about four km west of Bennett Springs around 3:30pm with two passengers.
Police said when he was negotiating a right hand bend a small vehicle travelling in the opposite direction crossed the double white lines causing Crouch to take evasive actions to avoid a collision.
As a result of this, the rear wheels of the trailer moved onto the dirt shoulder of the road before the rear side of the trail hit a tree.
As the combination negotiated the right hand bend, the rear wheels travelled around 40 metres and reached a slight embankment where the rear side of the trailer hit a tree.
Police said the weight of the trailer sent the truck into a clockwise spin, before colliding with another tree, coming to rest almost 20 metres away.
When the trailer came away, the converter dolly rolled, blowing one of the front tyres before it landed back in its correct orientation. The truck spun 180 degrees with the front nearside door, fuel tank and part of the roof colliding with a tree before the truck's spin came to a stop.
Police spoke with Crouch on February 17 about the incident, with Crouch remaining consistent with his version of events.
Crouch also informed police that no one in the truck was wearing seatbelts at the time of the incident and that he was going around the bend at an approximate speed of 85km.
The road had a signposted speed limit of 100km.