Latest news with #metalshards
Daily Mail
17-05-2025
- Automotive
- Daily Mail
Major update after truckie brought chaos to a busy highway and left 300 vehicles with punctured tyres
A driver has been charged after an estimated 840kg of metal shards came loose from his truck, damaging hundreds of vehicles on a busy highway. About 25km of the M1 Motorway, in NSW, was closed on May 2 after a truck carrying metal debris spilled its contents between Wyong Road and Mount White on the Central Coast. NSW Police said the tyres of more than 300 vehicles had been damaged following the early-morning spill. Commuters experienced major delays, with the arterial roadway only being re-opened to traffic about 10 hours later. Officers spoke with the 46-year-old driver of the heavy vehicle tipper about the matter at the time. On Saturday, he was served with a future court attendance notice for 'drive heavy vehicle not comply loading requirements-severe'. Police allege the secondary locking handles on the trailer were not properly engaged, allowing the debris to spill along the busy stretch of road. NJ Ashton, a trucking company based in Marulan, NSW, operated the vehicle. On the day of the incident, general manager Daniel Falconer said the driver was 'devastated and profoundly apologetic - as are we'. 'We'd like to thank all motorists, and anyone else impacted in some way, for their patience today,' Mr Falconer said. Earlier this month, Mr Falconer told Daily Mail Australia the driver, who had not yet been back on the road, was left in disbelief following the incident. He said the driver was only made aware of the spillage after another road user waved him down, claiming the truck had left a trail of sparks behind it. 'He pulled in a little bit off the road, went and checked his back tailgate and noticed that it was a little bit open and that shards could come out,' Mr Falconer said. 'This guy has been doing the exact same run for three-and-a-half months. The exact same run... and this one day it just turned into a nightmare.' Despite the massive scale of the incident, Mr Falconer said it could have gone 'a lot worse' if more of the truck's 24-tonne load had spilled free. No one was reported injured following the incident. The truck driver is due to appear at Hornsby Local Court on Thursday July 10.
News.com.au
06-05-2025
- Automotive
- News.com.au
Hefty bill for M1 motorway metal shard spill after hundreds of punctured tyres
The company responsible for the 750kg of metal shards spilt on the M1 motorway, puncturing hundreds of tyres, has now been handed a huge bill. NJ Ashton Group general manager Daniel Falconer said the company has received about '800 to 900 emails' regarding claims and 620 had already been processed. Mr Falconer told 2GB that the 30km stretch of metal shards from Ourimbah to Mount White on the NSW Central Coast had cost the company 'up towards the two mark'. The company was working closely with its insurance company to help settle up with impacted drivers, he said. 'We've been in contact with our insurance company, we've had meetings with them,' Mr Falconer said. He said an insurance investigation was under way, and results would be back in about three to four weeks. 'We won't know anything until that's completed,' Mr Falconer said. NJ Ashton Group is now hosting a BBQ and coffee day on Friday between 11 and 1.30pm at 47 Oaks Peats Ridge Village for those impacted to be able to speak directly to the insurance company, its own representatives and the truck driver. 'It just to say … it's not so much a thank you, it's just a 'we're here, come down,' Mr Falconer said. 'The insurance company will be there … our whole team will be there, so you can sit down, have a chat, do whatever you need to do.' Mr Falconer said the company took 'full responsibility for what's happened' and was 'very sorry for any damage and disruption that's been caused'. 'We'd like to thank all motorists, and anyone else impacted in some way, for their patience today. The driver is devastated and profoundly apologetic — as are we,' Mr Falconer said in a statement. The incident closed the M1 for several hours after the spillage punctured hundreds of tyres, causing a traffic standstill. Transport for NSW co-ordinator general Howard Collins said 750kg of 'finely ground steel' had stretched more than 30km down the motorway and would require extra sweeping efforts to remove the millions of pieces of debris. 'This is not just a case of getting a road sweeper out or the guys and girls with brooms,' he said. 'We are using some magnetic devices. We are removing embedded metal in the highway itself.' NSW Police Acting Superintendent Thomas Barnes said at the time the bulk of the damage to vehicles was on the rims and tyres, and there were no reports of injuries. 'We're very lucky that we didn't have a fatality or a serious injury this morning when it quite easily could have occurred,' Superintendent Barnes said.
