Dean Joseph Brophy loses license for dangerously overtaking caravan on Dukes Highway

A truck driver blamed his risky behaviour on the best of three potentially fatal options when he blindly overtook a caravan on the Dukes Highway.

A truck driver who claimed his risky behaviour was the best of three potentially fatal options, was lucky his shift did not end in tragedy, a court heard.

Dean Joseph Brophy, 49, who had previously pleaded guilty to due care (basic offence), was not present at the Mount Gambier Magistrates Court on Tuesday.

Brophy was driving a 63.5t semi trailer loaded with gravel at the Dukes Highway’s 110km/h speed limit when he overtook a caravan approaching a blind bend on August 30, 2019.

The police prosecutor said Brophy put multiple lives at risk when he overtook the vehicle which was travelling at 80km/h.

“There was no visibility for the oncoming traffic around that bend,” the police prosecutor said.

“Coming in the opposite direction at that time and around that corner was a van that had to brake heavily, and leave to the road.

“There was a further oncoming car that didn’t have to leave the roadway, but it had to slow considerably, and pull far to the left.

Truck driver Dean Joseph Brophy, 49, pleaded guilty to due care (basic offence). Picture: istock

“Ironically there an overtaking lane within 300m of where this took place”

Prosecution asked Magistrate Maria Panagiotidis to disqualify Brophy from driving.

“The overtaking should never be performed,” he said.

“Had this happened 30 seconds earlier it could have been a lot worse.”

Defence lawyer Dylan Walsh argued Brophy could not break in time and believing he had three options took the one he thought was least risky.

“The first option was to take the truck off-road into scrub, the second option was to continue straight and hit the Winnebago and the third was to attempt an overtaking manoeuvre,” Mr Walsh said.

“The other two options would have caused significant fatalities, albeit that this was lucky that it didn’t.”

Arguing against the license disqualification, Mr Walsh said the life long truck driver was his family’s only breadwinner supporting his wife, daughter, who had both lost their jobs to COVID, plus his two grandchildren.

“He is the only person in their family with employment,” he said.

“The impacts would be huge on his family and there would be extensive ramifications to the point of not being able to live.”

Magistrate Panagiotidis said Brophy could have faced a harsher charge for the “very dangerous incident” and the case that warranted exercising her discretion to disqualify him despite the law not requiring it.

“63.5t of articulated motor vehicle is a lethal weapon,” Magistrate Panagiotidis said.

“If he’s going too fast behind another vehicle to slow down or stop if he needs that in itself is driving without due care, the overtaking just compounds it.

“The speed limit is intended to stop people driving faster than a speed that’s acceptable to the community generally, if your circumstances are such that the speed limit cannot be driven at safely you are obliged to drive less than the speed limit.”

Magistrate Panagiotidis recorded a conviction, ordered Brophy to pay a fine of $350, court fees of $681 and acknowledging his good driving record and his personal circumstances deferred a four week disqualification to August 1.