Let’s all drive smarter
DALE Last ( TB, 10/10) makes a lot of sense with his comments that the Government’s approach to road upgrades is cumbersome and fails to address safety issues in a timely manner.
There are, however, many other factors which concern our safety as road users.
Just recently, in the Townsville region alone, there have been four innocent victims who have died as a result of horrific road accidents and the human misery left as a result of those deaths is almost too much to bear.
Three weeks ago today we said goodbye to my ever-loving wife, mother and grandmother Julie, who lost her life in an accident on Woolcock St on her way to work, and on Wednesday in Ingham, two much-loved local ladies were laid to rest after they lost their lives in a tragic accident south of Ingham.
Two days ago, in Mundingburra, in another tragic accident, a boy also lost his life in a collision between his bike and a car.
Our hearts go out to the families of those victims and to the many first responders, paramedics, police and other emergency personnel who are having to deal with these types of incidents with increasing regularity.
The state of our roading infrastructure, while leaving a lot to be desired, is, however, not the main cause of these tragedies and I wonder how much longer we are going to have to put up with a system that allows inexperienced and incompetent drivers to openly and blatantly flout the road rules and drive in a manner which endangers so many road users on a regular basis.
Only two days ago, as I travelled inbound on Woolcock St, a large truck travelling north on Woolcock St turned right into Weston St across my path and while I didn’t need to brake suddenly, I did have to slow a little to avoid that truck.
I wonder if the driver had any inkling that my vehicle, travelling at 100km/h, was bearing down on him at nearly 30 metres per second.
Two weeks ago, as I drove to Mackay, I was overtaken by a large 4WD vehicle travelling at high speed through the roadworks at the Haughton Flood Plain upgrade.
I say “high speed” because I had slowed to 80km/h and was slowing to 60km/h when this vehicle flew past me.
It didn’t get far because the next set of traffic control lights curbed its momentum and one can only fume at the antics such as this which I and many others see every day.
For the safety of all road users, I implore drivers to slow down, look for potential hazards and keep their minds firmly on the job, and that job is managing and keeping a lethal weapon from crashing into others.
STAN HATTON, Cosgrove.