Community at a crossroad
HUNDREDS of residents have gathered to call on all levels of government to act on a killer country intersection that has been the scene of three serious accidents since Christmas.
About 200 residents attended a community rally in Birregurra yesterday, which heard an outpouring of outrage over the lack of action to fix the intersection of ColacLorne and Birregurra-Forrest roads at Birregurra.
Since Christmas Eve, one man has died and 12 others injured in a string of highspeed crashes at the intersection.
The CFA yesterday said it had been called to 12 serious crashes at the site in the past 14 years.
Yesterday’s rally heard suggestions ranging from building a roundabout, flattening the road, and cutting trees to improve the intersection, to playing airline videos to tourists flying into Australia to familiarise them with local road rules.
Muroon resident Jacqui Phillips, who lives close to the intersection, said the whole community was in fear of travelling in and around the crossing.
“The school bus, it travels through it six times a day. I had a near miss about two months ago that forced me to pull over, afterwards I was that shaken,” she said.
“It shouldn’t have taken someone to die before something gets done.”
Many in attendance feared the changes would be too little too late, saying many local roads were like “sheep tracks” that had received “pitiful funding”.
Barwon Downs man Chris Maher said a major issue was foreign drivers being allowed into the country without adequate driving experience.
“You only need three serious crashes in five years to get black spot funding and we’ve had three in a weekend,” he said.
Corangamite MP Sarah Henderson pledged to lobby the Federal Government for urgent black-spot funding while increasing the pressure on the state.
She also called for a review on “cornflakes packet” drivers licenses given to many foreign tourists.
“With the influx of tourism ... comes the dangers we are having with more and more reports of international drivers coming over with virtually no driving experiences,” she said.
“I’ve raised this with Barnaby Joyce and the foreign minister ... now we’re seeking local solutions.”
Polwarth MP Richard Riordan said the upgrade and duplication of the Princes Highway had led to an increase in drivers using the rural stretches to access the Great Ocean Road, increasing the risk of collisions.
“We’ve got mums and dads here, farmers, people at the coalface of the problem,” he said.
“These roads and their use are changing, we have six mil- lion people coming down here, more than the AFL draws, yet look at the difference in funding.”
In a statement on Saturday, VicRoads South Western Regional Director Mark Koliba said international drivers had accounted for 21 per cent of crashes along the Great Ocean Road from July 2012 to June 2017.
He said Birregurra-Forrest Rd was a two-lane, two-way sealed road with a 100km/h speed limit and a traffic volume of about 1200 vehicles per day.
“The severity and number of crashes that have occurred over the past few days is extremely serious and that is why an immediate review has commenced between VicRoads, Victoria Police and the Transport Accident Commission,” he said.
“VicRoads has responded by implementing a number of interim safety measures, which are now in place.”
The State’s Acting Minister for Roads and Road Safety Philip Dalidakis said Ms Henderson and Mr Riordan were taking advantage of a “tragic accident”.
“Instead of showing leadership, they are slurring overseas drivers and hurting the south west’s vital tourism industry and Australia’s reputation,” he said.