Bruce Highway dangers pushed truckie to quit industry for good

A former truckie has told how he quit the transport industry after witnessing too many accidents on the “goat track” that is the Bruce Highway.

Richard Walker, 39, walked away from trucking about a year and a half ago, after he and his partner welcomed their first child.

“I was working for a great company, running Far North Queensland up to Cairns and back inland,” he said.

“I was enjoying it, but there were so many accidents on the Bruce, and I had so many close calls.

“I started questioning whether I’d make it home or not every time I got in the truck.

“One day my partner sent me a video of our son laughing for the first time, and that’s when I knew I couldn’t keep doing this to myself or my family.”

There were a few accidents in particular that prompted Walker to hang up his keys.

“I have been on the scene of multiple fatalities and traffic accidents over the years,” he continued.

“I stopped not long after seeing the aftermath of an accident near Home Hill.

“There were two people in their 60s who were clipped by a stolen vehicle and sent in front of a B-double that absolutely obliterated the car.

“It was so gruesome, it really shook me.”

The Brisbane man said that while dangerous driver behaviour contributes to crashes on the Bruce, fixing the highway would make a huge difference.

“I am always saying this, and so is every driver that has to run that goat track – many of these accidents could easily have been avoided.

“How much blood has to be soaked into that highway before the government actually pull their finger out and do what needs to be done?

“How much is a life worth to them?”

“We need a dual lane all the way to Cairns, but I don’t think I’m going to see that in my lifetime.”

Walker thinks the Queensland and federal governments should also invest in building bypasses.

“If I was in charge, the first thing I would do would be very similar to the Sydney idea.

“I know no government has got $6 billion lying around, and the Bruce Highway is twice as long.

“But I would find alternative tracks, I’d go a little more inland, and I would bypass as many towns as possible – especially the section from Childers to Maryvale.

“I think that is the most dangerous section of the highway.”

Walker said he won’t miss much about the transport industry.

“I got into driving kind of by default, because I wasn’t very good in school,” he said.

“I saw it as an avenue to provide an honest living, and I liked the freedom it offered, but I really lost my passion for it over the years.

“No job is worth your life, and since I started as a professional driver, the odds haven’t gotten better.”

Walker is in the process of starting his own business, and he’s excited about spending more time at home.

“The past few months I’ve been able to spend much more time with my son, I’ve really gotten to know him again,” he said.

“I can’t wait to watch him grow up.”