Brave widow Delphine Mugridge is determined to stay the course on her pledge to see more stringent pathways to securing a truck driving licence.
Delphine, whose husband Neville ‘Slim’ Mugridge, 77, was killed along with two other truck drivers in a head-on crash on the Eyre Highway on April 4, doesn’t want to see anyone else go through the same heartache.
She’s started an online petition at Change.org – ‘Stop the issuing of heavy vehicle licences outside the given time frames’ – where she outlines her views on what the minimum requirements should be for each truck licence.
The petition already has more than 13,500 supporters.
“I’m aiming for 20,000 so they’d have to sit up and take notice,” said Adelaide-based Delphine, who has already written to the Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, SA Premier Peter Malinauskas, and the NHVR, among several other transport officials.
“The ideal thing would be to do a traineeship or an apprenticeship over four years in which they drive a certain distance locally for the first 12 months, do a changeover for the second year, and then do a long-haul for the third year, while also being well and truly up with all the things that go with driving a truck.
“Everything, so they are not just hoping in a truck and not knowing how to reverse them.”
Delphine said she’s going for fight for the change with her “dying breath” to leave a lasting legacy for Slim.
“It’s very hard – I’ve lost the love of my life and I’d hate anyone else to go through this because of lack of experience.
“A huge number of drivers are considering hanging up their boots wondering who will be next to die.”
Here’s a summary of the pathways Delphine would like to see:
1. Newcomers must have held a car licence off “P” plates for 12 months.
2. Hold a light rigid licence for one year.
3. For a medium rigid, must have held a class “C” for at least one year.
4. For heavy rigid must have held a class “C” for at least two years or class LR or MR for at least one year.
5. To gain a heavy combination must have held a class MR or HR at least one year
6. For multi-combination must have held a class HR or HC for at least one year.
Sooner the better
This section of the Ayre Highway is notoriously narrow. I doubt these drivers would have perished had there been any tarmac beyond the fogline. The edges are soft and there is only inches between trucks passing each other.
One tiny error and there is a head on crash.
I blame the South Australian and Federal government for this disaster, not the drivers. It will not be the last accident (God forbid) until the roads are widened and proper highway installed between Nundroo and Border Village.