COMPLACENCY OR IGNORANCE? GOVERNMENT FAILURE TO IDENTIFY ACCIDENT HOTSPOTS IS ENDANGERING LIVES
Member for Western Victoria Region Bev McArthur MP today drew attention to another failure by the Andrews’ Government to take road safety seriously. During Constituency Questions in the Legislative Council, Mrs McArthur questioned Minister for Roads Jaala Pulford on the Government’s failure to record accidents on country roads in Western Victoria Region.
Mrs McArthur asked in parliament “…how can the public have any confidence in the Government’s approach to road safety, when the collection of accident data is so inadequate?” “The recent experience of my constituent Ruby Austin illustrates this – she suffered a serious hit and run accident on the Princes Highway last month, but was advised by police not to report the incident. Is this a government directive designed to fudge the figures?”
She drew attention to an intersection in Polwarth, which has seen 35 accidents in the past five years, but has gone unreported as no ambulances have been called.
She added: “This attitude contrasts with industry where reporting of near misses is absolutely required.”
In further quotes attributable, she argued:
“We should be collecting all the data we can – not restricting it to instances where ambulances are called. Safety must be proactive not reactive, identifying dangerous hotspots now to avoid tragedies in future. It is incredibly valuable data – smaller accidents point to bigger problems, and failing to act on the warning signs is negligence which could prove fatal. For Government and police to claim it is the business of insurance companies to record this information is unacceptable. It is either complacency, or a deliberate decision to under-record the figures. It’s cost-saving not life-saving.”
Mrs McArthur linked the issue to her long-running campaign to highlight the dangers posed by some international drivers on the roads of Western Victoria Region. She said: “neither the Premier or Minister is taking this issue seriously, at least in part because they are looking at inadequate statistics not listening to the people who face this danger on a daily basis. I accept that many accidents involving tourists are not serious smashes, but any accident is one too many, and the failure to record these incidents diligently means the Government is still failing to address this lethal threat on our roads.”
16 October 2019