Crash victim in plea to wineries

By Dion Teasdale
TED Bishop remembers somersaulting over the handles of his motorbike through smoke and fog, and then having to drag his wife Karon from the road.
The pair, who live in Chum Creek, were involved in a serious motorcycle accident last month – one they believe was caused by a lethal combination of heavy fog and smoke.
The smoke, Ted said, came from Yarra Valley wineries burning hay bales in the early hours of the morning.
“Burning the bails is meant to reduce the harm frosts do to grape vines, but combined with fog, the smoke reduces visibility and makes driving on our roads dangerous,” he said.
Ted and Karon, veteran cycle riders, were travelling along the Maroondah Highway at around 6.15am on Monday, 16 October. Ted was at the helm and Karon was riding on the back.
“When we left home the fog was heavy, but we could also smell smoke,” he said.
“When we got to the bridge over Stringybark Creek (between Healesville and Coldstream) visibility dropped.
“I reduced our speed down to 30 km/h and then visibility dropped to zero. It was a complete white-out,” Ted said.
Suddenly, the pair saw the back of a five tonne truck, which had stopped because of poor visibility, on the highway in front of them.
“We collided with the truck. Karon landed in the middle of the road,” Ted said.
“All I could think of was how Karon was in the path of oncoming cars and that I had to get her off the road.”
Ted said while he and Karon waited for police and ambulances to turn up, four cars came skidding through the crash site.
“It was like something out of the movies. Even the ambulance, when it arrived, had trouble navigating its way through the smoke and fog,” he said.
Ted and Karon both sustained severe bruising and cuts to their legs and arms. They were taken to the Maroondah Hospital and their bike was almost beyond repair.
“Before this we didn’t know wineries burned hay bales during fog and frosts, but now we are really angry about it,” Ted said.
“This needs to stop before someone is killed. Saving vines is important, but not worth risking people’s lives.”
Chris Messerle, chair of the Yarra Valley Wine Growers Association (YVWGA) technical sub-committee, defended the practice.
“Wineries burning bales is a world-wide practice and an important part of growing grapes,” he said. “It is one of the very few ways vineyards can influence the effect of frosts on their vines.”
He said the YVWGA had not received complaints from motorists about the effect of smoke from burning bales.
“Grape growers are very aware of when they use bales and are very conscious of wind directions and not creating too much smoke,” he said.
Acting Sergeant Graeme Rust, from Yarra Ranges Traffic Management Unit, said he hadn’t heard of smoke from hay bales causing traffic problems.
“The best advice I can offer is, if there is a heavy fog, and smoke in the air, then motorists should be travelling at speeds safe for the conditions,” he said.