A roadworker safety hotline in Queensland has highlighted the critical need to curb speed at roadwork sites. The hotline, open to Main Roads and Transport staff to report incidents, has received 82 calls this year, and authorities fear there will be more fatalities after increasing reports of dangerous driving.
The alarming number of incidents has prompted Main Roads Minister, Craig Wallace, to issue a warning to motorists to slow down.
Earlier this year, a 48 year old traffic controller from Deception Bay was struck and killed when a speeding driver ignored signs on the Bruce Highway. Police later charged the driver with manslaughter.
Minister Wallace said it was disturbing that some of the latest incidents even involved professional drivers.
“Roadworkers have witnessed truck drivers and bus drivers speeding and ignoring traffic directions,’’ the Minister said.
He said statistics showed there were
71 casualties in Queensland as a result of crashes at roadworks between 2005 and 2008.
Boylan Traffic Solutions national operations manager, Wayne Duckworth, said in the US it was common practice for portable speed advisory signs to be set up at roadworks.
“Speed advisory technology used to be very expensive but now there are lightweight, low cost options available that can be easily transported to a site and set up in minutes,’’ Wayne Duckworth said.
SpeedCheck records and flashes the speed a driver is travelling at, then switches to ‘Slow Down’ if the driver has exceeded the speed limit. It recognises varying time zone speeds, including school holidays, and collects data on individual vehicles by date, time, and speed of the vehicle.
For further information telephone 1800 300 200 or email info@boylan.net.au
*Copy supplied by Boylan Traffic Solutions
