Safety fears as sign flies
Danger for road users
A WAURN Ponds man has questioned the integrity of road sign infrastructure, fearing a driver could be killed after a sign was flung almost 50m from where it stood.
Les Szalinski discovered the eastbound directional sign on Waurn Ponds Rd, which leads to a roundabout exiting to the Geelong Ring Road, last week.
The retired rigger claimed it was the second time in three years the sign had been downed and he was shocked to find pop rivets securing the main structure to the base of the sign.
Mr Szalinski said it was particularly scary in the wake of a huge sign falling from a gantry on to a car on the Tullamarine Freeway last month, and called for a wider review of sign infrastructure around the state.
“After the sign blew down on one of the main roads that nearly killed that lady, this is the same sort of situation I reckon, because if you’re driving along there and that sign blows over, because of the size it is, you could be killed,” he said.
“My main concern is it’s come down before and it was all pop-riveted to the footings.
“You use pop rivets for flyscreens, not major structures like that. Its got four feet on it, and they were all ripped out.
“Every one should be checked, if that’s what they’re doing, or someone could get killed.”
VicRoads crews have since removed the sign and a replacement is being sought, but VicRoads would not reveal the maintenance record of the sign.
A spokeswoman said high winds on Tuesday caused several similar reports statewide.
Wind recordings from the Bureau of Meteorology showed speeds at Geelong climbed above 20km/h about 6.30am, gusted to 43km/h at 7am, 56km/h at 8.08am and peaked at 61km/h at 9.34am.
VicRoads says large directional sign posts of this kind are designed to give way when struck, to limit the danger in a vehicle collision.
Regional Roads Victoria chief regional roads officer Paul Northey said signs were checked regularly to ensure they met required standards.
“Safety is always our number-one priority and we regularly inspect the network to ensure it remains safe,” he said.
“Shortly after being notified, our crews attended the site and made sure the sign was positioned away from the roadside ahead of its removal.
“We encourage the com- munity to report any issue or hazard on the road network via the RRV dedicated hotline 133 778.”
VicRoads is conducting an audit of freeway signs on gantries in the metropolitan network after the Tullamarine Freeway incident, but would not commit to auditing roadside signs such as those in the Waurn Ponds incident.