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[Risky]

Hey Geevee

I have nothing against people with bullbars on their 4x4's. They do have a purpose.

The young girl who drove the Toyota Landcruiser was on her cell phone at the time when conditions on the roads were absolutely treacherous. With half of Sydney's yearly rain downpouring in a space of 2hours, she did not adapt to the conditions. Later I learnt through police that she was an inexperienced driver & it was her first time driving the Landcruiser & she had a provisional drivers licence. I actually read her statement that she gave to the police which was flawed. She stated that she was never on her cell phone at the time & that my father abruptly stopped the Vitara not giving her time to brake. Witnesses at the scene (which I read their reports) all stated that she was on her cell phone & driving erractically on the road. When the accident happened she stepped out of the Landcruiser with her phone glued to her head stating she caused an accident to whoever was on the other line. The girl was charged with using a cell phone without benefit of a handsfree device, speeding & dangerous driving. Personally if it was me, I would have stripped her of her licence ensuring she'd never drive again. That's an emotional point of view.

My father was more concerned about my mother's wellbeing as she was knocked unconscious when her head hit the "A" pillar & both my parents were covered in glass from the rear tailgate. The photo I took doesn't show all the extent of the damage. My father at the time was driving slowly as the bad conditions prevailed & he had his foot extremly hard on the brake to combat the force inflicted. The '97 Vitara was pushed by the Landcruiser by 20 metres so you can imagine the strain my father had on his leg whilst it was on the brake. As I said, had the spare tyre not been mounted where it is, it could have been far worse.

The insurance company that inspected my '97 Vitara said it was repairable. I pointed out the bent chassis & that if it was repaired it would be an unroadworthy vehicle. I had it independant inspection on it after when it was fixed only to find that it was only cosmetically fixed & failed all tests. I brought it to the attention of the insurers who really couldn't give a stuff about it. I could have fought them in the courts but it would have cost too much to proceed with any action. In order not to see the '97 Vitara back on the road again, I stripped it & sold off the parts. Only the chassis was left & I gave that to a scrap yard.

I don't have a bullbar on my GV but only a nudge bar. On my '07 GV it came in handy as it helped push a car bogged in a flood. They have tried to ban bullbars in New South Wales over the years but with no luck. I think this is too extreme, but responsibility of piloting a vehicle is up to the driver on how they conduct themselves on our public roads.

I stress to everyone who drives that they should take advanced driving lessons & 4x4 lessons. Not all vehicles are the same but there are a lot of people out there who think that they are. It taught me to be a better driver and to respect the vehicles we drive.