On the theme of limiting damage, Roger Sanders, a former Vicroria Police traffic chief and now part of consultancy Delta-V Experts, advised delegates to always have what he calls a "goodness file".

Containing proof of chain of responsibility, vehicle maintenance, safety, accreditation, audits, commendations and driver training and welfare actions, the file will prove invaluable in the event of a serious truck accident, he says.

The full article may be downloaded here.

The complimentary capabilities of these two businesses provided a great opportunity for this merger. In particular, Delta-V Experts can now assist you in the areas of slips, trips and falls, manual handling, guarding of machinery and injuries of all sorts. We also offer continue to offer all of our existing expertise, including expert witness reports, vehicle handling testing, biomechanics and injury, and safety advice and consulting. 

Expect an even better level of service and a wider range of capabilities from the newly expanded Delta-V Experts!

Should you have any comments, questions, concerns or suggestions, please do not hesitate to contact Delta-V Experts’ General Manager, Maxwell Shifman, on (03) 9481 2200.

"VicRoads works alongside many individuals and organisations to find innovative solutions that will improve safety on our roads. Some of these include facial recognition systems, drug and alcohol testing, automatic number plate recognition and intelligent speed assist.

A diverse panel of experts will delve into case studies where innovation and safety come together for the benefit of the community."

The panel consists of a Policy Director, Traffic Superintendent, Technology Commercialist, Engineering Consultant and of course, Dr Rechnitzer as a Forensic Engineer.

The breakfast will be held at Zinc, Federation Square at 7am pm on Monday, 2 August 2010. The full invitation and registration form may be downloaded here.

Download the interview here if you are unable to use the embedded player.

Delta-V Experts were the first Australian crash investigators at the scene and prepared a preliminary report into the factual evidence collected at the site immediately after the collision. This preliminary report was subsequently tendered as part of the Coronial Inquest, and assisted the Coroner and members of the Victorian MCIU in conducting their full investigation.

The Victorian Coroner, Paresa Spanos, made the following key findings:

• ".. whichever legal entity was responsible for organising this tour which ended so tragically, they did so poorly, engaging insufficient personnel and/or allowing insufficient time to ensure the driver was sufficiently rested to undertake his duties safely and not under the burden of fatigue."
• “In the circumstances of this investigation I can only say what is obvious and very general, that is that the wearing of seat belts could potentially have prevented ejection from the bus and saved some lives and ameliorated some injuries.”
• “In my view the potential was there for ESP to have prevented the collision altogether, or at least to afford the driver some control and more effective braking so as to reduce the momentum and curtail the bus's trajectory.”

Forensic engineer Dr Shane Richardson told the coronial inquest yesterday that inexperienced drivers would find it hard to control a troop carrier on Fraser Island beaches.

Dr Richardson said troop carriers were deceptive vehicles that look like a regular passenger vehicle but handle more like a truck.

He said they also had a tendency to overturn because of their narrow wheel base and high centre of gravity.

The inquiry into this incident continues at the time of writing.

The SAE-A is a non-profit organisation that works to serve the needs of its members and to promote the relevance of automotive-related technologies to governments, industry and the community in general.

Shane will lend his considerable vehicle safety and handling advice to the SAE-A.

Delta-V Experts is pleased to be selling this sophisticated software and using it in as part of our accident reconstruction activities. For further information, please contact Dr Shane Richardson on +61 (0)3 9481 2200.

The course is targeted at designers, engineers, project managers, construction managers, OHS managers, OHS personnel, safety managers, involved in the planning and design and construction of civil engineering infrastructure and building works. This course is particularly valuable for design managers but will also be important to less experienced design professionals in introducing the concepts of designing for safety as set out in the Engineers Australia Guide to Best Practice for Safer Construction.

Courses will be run in Adelaide, Canberra, Darwin, Hobart, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney throughout 2010. Registrations can be made at the Engineering Education Australia website.

The Safety Assist project will:

• Develop, design and engineer solutions for manual handling, slips and fall risk problems
• Share solutions across the industry
• Develop policies and procedures with employers and clients, including government agencies, to address chain of responsibility obligations
• Ensure access to materials to support the improvements in OHS
• Improve competence in managing OHS across the industry

Further information can be found on the Safety Assist website.

Please contact DVE on 03 9481 2200 if you operate in short distance road freight and woulid like assistance under Safety Assist or any other OH&S improvement program.