NURSE’S PLEA TO SLOW DOWN
With every road fatality, there are others who are traumatised
A NURSE who worked on a blood-soaked man at the scene of a deadly Norlane crash is pleading with drivers to slow down to prevent road deaths.
Kathryn Stewart, one of the first on the scene at the Melbourne Rd crash last month, has experienced harrowing flashbacks in the weeks since the high-speed crash.
“It’s not just you that you affect; it’s your family and friends that have to go to your funeral or see you in hospital,” Ms Stewart said.
She said there was no place for speeders on our roads.
A NURSE who worked on a blood-soaked man at the scene of a deadly Norlane crash is pleading with drivers to slow down to prevent road deaths.
Kathryn Stewart, one of the first on the scene at t the Melbourne Rd crash on July 18, has experienced harrowing flashbacks in the weeks since the high-speed crash.
“It’s not just you that you affect; it’s your family and friends that have to go to your funeral or see you in hospital. Not to mention the people who work on the bodies at the scene,” Ms Stewart said.
Ms Stewart, who worked on the 42-year-old male passenger before he died in hospital, said there was no place for speeders on our roads.
“If people want to speed because they think it’s cool or fun and then put everyone else’s lives at risk, they should be going down to the racetrack. They can go full out there.”
The Transport Accident Commission has urged the community to play its role in reducing road trauma after 37 fatalities on the region’s roads in the past five years.
The TAC’s Towards Zero Action Plan l shows h a quarter t of the state’s most dangerous roads are in Geelong and South Barwon.
Ms Stewart, 24, said families were experiencing unnecessary heartache due to speeding drivers.
“He (the passenger) was dead when I arrived. We couldn’t find a pulse,” she said.
“We started CPR and stopped every 30 seconds or so just to turn him.
“We had to keep turning him over because his airways were all blocked with blood and vomit.
“He was a mess. It’s definitely something that will stay with me for a very long time.”
Ms Stewart, who used her medical training for the first time at the scene, said she and others revived the passenger before he was flown to hospital.
F Fatal t l crashes have claimed the lives of 32 men and five women on Greater Geelong roads in the past five years and TAC data shows 60km/h zones are the deadliest.
More than 650 drivers, 221 passengers and 145 motorcyclists have needed hospital treatment after crashes on Geelong roads in the past five years.
More than 270 from this group were aged between 18 and 25.
TAC road safety director Samantha Cockfield said the community had a role to play in reducing road trauma by making safe choices while driving.
“Speed continues to be a major factor in road trauma in Victoria and, while it is not always the cause of a crash, the speed of a vehicle at impact will always determine the extent of the
injuries that result.”
Five of the state’s 20 highest-risk roads are in our region, which includes sections of Anglesea Rd, the Great Ocean Road, Geelong-Bacchus Marsh Rd, the Princes Highway and Geelong Ring Rd. All are set for safety upgrades.
Police say road deaths in Greater Geelong dropped 64.3 per cent in the past financial year, while those on Surf Coast roads increased from four to 10.
The number of lives lost on Victorian roads has almost halved in the past 12 years but the yearly road toll continues to top 200.
So far this year 119 people have died on the state’s roads — down 23 from the same time last year.
The 44-year-old male driver of the car involved in the Norlane crash has been charged with one count of culpable driving.