OMG!!! From your link 👆

It was meant to be the start of an exciting new chapter in Simon Peckitt and Felicity Stewart's lives but instead their worlds were torn apart.
The couple and their two young daughters had spent the weekend house-hunting in central Victoria after deciding on a tree-change.

But as the family drove back to Melbourne on the Calder Freeway on December 6, 2021, a 43-tonne semitrailer crashed into the back of their Volkswagen.

Two-year-old Harriett, seated in the back seat, was killed instantly.

"She had the world in front of her," Stewart told the County Court.

"She was such a kind soul and brought so much joy to her parents, her sister and her wider family.

It's terribly unfair that her life was cut so terribly short."

The driver of the semitrailer, Matthew John Livingston, on Monday pleaded guilty to culpable driving causing Harriett's death.

Captain Caveman wrote on Jun 27^th, 2023 at 3:13pm:


25 yrs free bed and breakfast on the tax payer is a very    generous offer too.

Lisa Jones wrote on Jun 27^th, 2023 at 4:59pm:



I'd happily pull the lever on the gallows, however we're not allowed to do that anymore.
So we have to send them to free bed and breakfast.
It does come with the inherent risk of being broken every day.
Child killers have a hard time in there.

Accidents due happen
Falling asleep at the wheel is not an evil ACT

I would come down with harsher sentences on youth in stolen cars who are deliberately speeding
I would also come down harder on people affected by drugs and alcohol

You would also want to look at his driving record

Any of us could probably fall asleep at the wheel
And 25 years is way too high

I would think a better sentence would be 2 years
And then perhaps to repay some karma
He could donate 20% off his wage in future years to a trust fund for the family

freediver wrote on Jun 28^th, 2023 at 5:58am:


Here in Sydney everyone’s idea of “normal” is rushing around like they’re an hr late to get somewhere. Our motorways can and do function like racing car tracks at times 😩

What I do to cope with the ridiculous and congested traffic is essentially this: I allow space btwn myself and whatever is in front AND where possible...try and avoid buses and trucks. These are huge transport vehicles and as such probably can’t stop as easily so I need to factor that into my calculations for a safe trip.

I also try and avoid going anywhere near ute drivers, taxi cab drivers and Volvo drivers. Why? For whatever reason these drivers are hell bent on causing mayhem and/or accidents wherever they go.

I’ve been told many times that I’m a very good and a very safe driver. I believe my exemplary driving record exists mainly because I stay away from idiots. That and the fact that I’m not interested in NOR do I have time for ANY type of road accident.

Ultimately it’s the responsibility of ensuring the safety of the passengers inside the car I’m driving that weighs most heavily on my conscience. I take that responsibility very seriously. So defensive driving is my go to method (as outlined above).

aquascoot wrote on Jun 28^th, 2023 at 5:39am:

I agree; it's inevitable with millions of road kilometres
being traversed every day by heavy and high speed vehicles.

But this was NOT an accident;  it was an act of gross
negligence, plus the intentional breaking of two road
laws—an absence of mandatory rest breaks, and the
systematic falsifying of a log book.

aquascoot wrote on Jun 28^th, 2023 at 5:39am:

Don't be silly mate.   Of course it was an act of "evil".
Livingston broke three laws, two of them with the
intent to commit a criminal act.

Intent precludes accidental.

aquascoot wrote on Jun 28^th, 2023 at 5:39am:

You may well (apparently, as you suggest) but in 58
years of driving I've never fallen asleep, nor have I
ever rear-ended someone when travelling at forty-six
km/h over the speed limit.     Nor have I ever killed
anybody on the roads.  It's an absurd position for you
to attempt to diminish the degree of Livingston's
culpability.

aquascoot wrote on Jun 28^th, 2023 at 5:39am:

Well in that case, your thinking is faulty.