Terrifying dash cam captures Sydney driver's close call: 'Nearly lost my head'
The motorist said they gave their wife and son a 'big cuddle' after returning home.
Terrifying dash cam footage has captured the moment a Sydney driver “nearly lost [their] head” after a ute boot cover slammed into their car at speed.
The shocking clip shows the motorist travelling on a toll road when the large white sheet of metal suddenly detaches from a tow truck ahead and launches into the air. It flips multiple times before bouncing off the bitumen and striking the front of the motorist’s blue sedan.
It then slides across the road, cutting off a white van that slowed down alongside the shocked driver as the truck continues to speed off ahead.
“Nearly lost my head to a poorly secured load yesterday,” they captioned the footage, which was posted to Reddit on Friday morning. “Me and the van chased him down the M7 and he pulled over once he realised,” the motorist continued, adding the tow truck driver was “actually very sorry” and a “lovely guy”.
“I did realise in the moment I couldn't avoid it so tried to slow her down at the right pace to ‘hit it on the front’.”
Subsequent photos of the sedan shared by the driver show a massive dent in its bonnet and damage to the front bumper.
Driver gives wife and son a 'big cuddle'
The confronting footage has attracted numerous comments online, with several viewers sharing their relief that the driver was not injured.
“I didn't really think at the time ... but afterwards I realised just how messy that could have been and it really hit me!” they replied. “Gave my wife and little boy a big cuddle last night! Amazing how this stuff comes out of nowhere. Was glad I was in a car not on a bike!”
'Could have been really ugly'
Reddit users also shared their own stories involving poorly secured loads. “That could have been really ugly,” one person wrote, adding it is “horrifying seeing something like that coming at you” and not being able to do anything about it. “Happened to me once on the Hume. So glad you caught up with the driver,” they continued.
“Many years ago I saw a sheet bounce out of a trailer, totally unsecured,” a person who identified themselves as a “life-long motorcyclist” said. “It landed back in the trailer, but I've never been so quick to get around and in front of a vehicle in my life.”
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“The driver being nice and sorry is a great start for insurance, but he’s likely in strife given there’s cameras all over the M7 and not securing your load is a serious offence,” a third person commented, prompting the driver to reveal they had shown the footage to police.
“Well funny you say that ... after the accident ... and on reflection of how dangerous it was — I did pull into a police station and show them the footage,” they said. “They told me ‘it doesn’t meet the criteria for investigation’ however they would ‘pass it onto our roads sergeant in case he wants to look into it’.”
Driving with an unsecured load in NSW can result in a $481 fine and three demerit points.
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