It Happens

It annoys me greatly that after tragedies like the collision between a truck & train near Kerang yesterday, all anyone seems to want to do is play the blame game.

• Readers Comments on heraldsun.com.au/
• An Unsafe System? (The Australian)
• Crash sparks debate over level crossings

Why is it so hard for people to accept that accidents happen? I don't understand why I have not seen or heard anyone in the media mention the possibility of brake failure on the truck. Every time I drive a large truck, I put my faith completely in it's braking system. If it fails while the truck is doing 100kmph, there's not a lot anyone can do to stop it. Maybe it wasn't mechanical failure, maybe the truckie couldn't see because of the sun, in which case he was driving (at least to an extent) recklessly. So what? It's a risk you take every time you get inside a fast-moving vehicle. Besides, every driver in the world has done something stupid on the road, intentionally or otherwise.

It's not possible to get the convenience and pleasure of travel without the risk of it.