October 1 Mona Vale.

Inferno: The Mona Vale crash. Photo: Supplied

Safety recommendations made by a coroner after a Cootes petrol tanker rolled over and exploded four years ago have still not been implemented. Two children and their father as well as the truck driver died in that accident.

Bev Fricke was a passenger in the first of three cars hit in the crash near Batemans Bay in 2009. This month, she read of a devastatingly similar truck accident in Mona Vale. ''Straight away I thought, 'not again','' she said. ''My next thought was that it was preventable.''

In the Mona Vale crash, a Cootes tanker ran out of control on an incline and went off the road at a bend. It burst into flames after it rolled and collided with a Subaru, killing driver Peter Wem, 73, and a passenger aged 71.

David Bridge and his two daughters, Jordan and Makeely Bridge.

David Bridge and his two daughters Jordan and Makeely were killed when a Cootes tanker collided with their car causing it to engulf in flames. Photo: Graham Tidy

In the accident four years ago, the tanker rolled on the Princes Highway 25 kilometres north of Batemans Bay. It burst into flames, colliding with a Subaru Forester driven by David Bridge, travelling with his wife Deborah and daughters Jordan, 13, and Makeely, 11.

The girls died as their car was engulfed in burning petrol and Mr Bridge died in hospital six days later after sustaining 80 per cent burns.

Mrs Bridge, still suffering from severe burns, attended the inquest in November 2011, which was conducted by Deputy State Coroner Carmel Forbes.

Norbert and Bev Fricke.

"We just said 'We are both dead. We know we are dead'": Crash victims Norbert and Bev Fricke. Photo: Supplied

In her summing up, the coroner said she was satisfied the tanker was travelling about 100km/h as it negotiated a bend ''and that this caused it to roll''.

In her report under ''What can be done to prevent a similar rollover in the future?'' the coroner states: ''It is imperative that measures are put in place for the transport of dangerous goods that minimises the risk of a repeat of this incident.''

She recommended to the federal and state ministers for transport that it should be mandatory that tankers carrying dangerous goods be fitted with stability control systems that apply the brakes automatically.

Fatal accident on the Princes highway near Pebbly Beach.

"We need to do something about this and if it means that someone has to get up here and do something about it, then I will." Photo: Supplied

She added: ''I note that the general manager of Cootes Transport has given evidence that all of their fleet will be retro-fitted.''

Since then, no legislation to make them compulsory has been introduced and McAleese, the company that now owns the original Cootes company, declined to say whether or not the truck in the Mona Vale crash was fitted with a stabiliser. ''The company will not be commenting on the incident or any aspect associated with the incident while it remains subject to investigation.''

It said, following the acquisition of the Cootes business from CHAMP in 2012, the company had committed $33 million to upgrade the fleet, 

which ''included a full provision for the installation of Roll Over Stability Technology in all Cootes Transport vehicles including the retro-fitting of existing equipment and the requirement for all new trucks to be fitted with this technology''.

Mrs Fricke and husband, Norbert, who now live in Goulburn, still suffer from anxiety attacks and flashbacks and are on medication.

She told Fairfax Media: ''I was sure all of that was all going to go through with the stabilisers and nothing has been done at all about it. Why do people have to lose their lives when their safety's at risk because stabilisers aren't fitted?

''It was exactly the same, the truck was going down a hill round a bend and then the driver lost control and if he had had the stabilisers fitted that would have automatically applied the brakes before he realised what was going on. Guaranteed [stabilisers] would have stopped that accident. I am very annoyed that they are not willing to put people's lives first.''

Asked what she remembered of the crash, she said: ''All of it.

''We came over a rise and straight away we saw the truck come down the hill, round a bend and the back end started swaying. As it got closer it was tipping on to our car and we just said 'We are both dead. We know we are dead.'

''It hit the back of the car, it missed my husband's head by about 40 centimetres. The back of the truck rolled on to our car. It put us into a spin and we went backwards into the bushes and then all I heard was just big loud explosions. We didn't realise that there was traffic behind us - and the truck rolled on to its side and slid across the road like a windscreen wiper and took out the next two cars.

''All the cars were in flames and the truck was in flames. There were huge explosions.''

The Roads and Maritime Services said in a statement on Friday that an audit of the trucking company was continuing, with 298 vehicles inspected and 10 vehicles grounded in NSW.

The RMS and NSW Police Joint Heavy Vehicle Task Force ordered the trucking company's LPG tanker fleet off the road for inspection as part of phase two of the operation that follows the initial fuel tanker inspections carried out last week.

They have issued 244 defect notices, 85 of them severe and most relating to brakes.

Mrs Bridge died last year. As she left the inquest she said: ''I don't want any family to have to go through what my family has to deal with on a daily and regular basis.

''We need to do something about this and if it means that someone has to get up here and do something about it, then I will.''

One friend posted on Facebook: "I hope she is at peace with her family now - nobody deserves the pain she lived with for the past two years.''