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Motorcyclist narrowly avoids death after freak item appears on highway

A Queensland motorbike rider has narrowly avoided death after a ladder came off a ute travelling in front of him.

The man was riding along the M1 on Friday between Ormeau and Yatala south of Brisbane when he crashed.

Video uploaded to Facebook by Dash Cam Owners Australia shows the incident.

The man travels in the right lane with another motorbike behind him when a ladder rack comes off a ute in front of them.

He swerves into the middle lane and crashes, coming off his bike and rolling into the the far left lane.

A ladder comes off a car on the M1 and takes out a motorcyclist who crashes.
This motorbike rider is lucky to be alive after a ladder took out his front tyre. Source: Dash Cam Owners Australia

The bike skids and he rolls but luckily the two cars travelling in the lanes next to him realise what’s happened and begin to brake. A ute slows down and turns to avoid hitting him.

Motorcyclist’s plea after close call on road

The motorcyclist later explained he wasn’t swerving to avoid the ladder but it had actually blown his front tyre causing him to crash.

“Please tie your loads down properly in your utes, tradies,” he wrote on Facebook.

“Was very lucky to walk away after this crash.”

Others echoed his sentiment and were horrified by the crash.

“This is why I never ride behind vehicles carrying a load/tools,” one man wrote.

Another man wrote he’s “lucky to be alive” while another suggested he should “buy a lotto ticket”.

“Tie your stuff down people,” one woman wrote.

“As a missus with a Harley rider partner, this scares me too much. It’s something that can hopefully be avoided if extra care is taken.”

Police warn drivers must secure loads or face fines

Queensland Police confirmed officers did attend the incident at Friday about 5.15am.

However, after conducting patrols police were unable to find the car which lost the ladder.

It’s also unclear which car in the dashcam video lost it, police said.

Gold Coast Police Detective Sergeant Todd Miller told Nine News last week “insecure loads” have the potential to cause death.

“A couple of minutes is all it takes to check our load,” he said.

Gold Coast District Chief Superintendent Mark Wheeler told reporters on Tuesday “it’s an incredibly concerning trend” and described debris coming off vehicles as “like a missile”.

Supt Wheeler added it’s a $266 fine for individuals and a $400 one for companies.

Anyone who doesn’t secure their load leading to death or grievous bodily harm can face criminal charges too.

“It doesn’t take long. You’ve got to secure that load,” he said.

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