Restrictions in force Comment sought on road safety

Although we’ve had about 25mm of rain earlier this month and it is the last day of summer fire restrictions are still in force.

Fire restrictions limit the ways you can use fire on your property, including machinery which may produce sparks or flames.

Darnum CFA captain John Camm said Fire Danger Periods (FDP) were based on local conditions and took into account fuel moisture, fuel loads, grassland curing, weather and rainfall.

“While wet at the moment it won’t take long to dry out,” said Mr Camm. “With the long grass and a bit of wind behind it, a fire could easily get away and create a quick-moving grass fire.”

Keeping fire restrictions in Baw Baw, South Gippsland and Bass Coast shires help to prevent fires from starting.

“Burn-offs are still prohibited unless you have a written permit from CFA, a Municipal Fire Prevention Officer or the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning,” said Mr Camm.

“This is also a reminder to those who held burn-offs prior to fire restrictions starting to double check those sites.

“We had two incidences within a week of each other where an old burn-off was covered with dirt, but the fire was smouldering underneath; the wind picked up and the fire came back up into the dry fuels on top.”

The penalties for lighting a fire in the open air during the FDP without a permit can be up to $17,000 and/or 12 months imprisonment.

Stiffer penalties apply for fires lit on Total Fire Ban Days.

For more information on restrictions during FDPs, visit cfa.vic.gov.au.

Community members are being urged to provide input into a road safety strategy aimed at reducing serious injury and fatal crashes on local roads.

Baw Baw Shire is developing the road safety strategy and is encouraging community members to assist with its development.

The first stage of the strategy development will include a public survey of the views and safety concerns of all community members who regularly use the local roads.

Further projects will be undertaken as required in order to create and maintain a safe road and roadside environment.

In its aim to move towards zero serious casualty and fatal crashes, council said road safety improvements would need to result from current and future projects.

Mayor Joe Gauci said the purpose of the strategy was to ensure the appropriate framework was in place to effectively identify and undertake road safety improvements through current and future projects.

Cr Gauci said council had decided to tackle this problem as a result of a high number of crashes having occurred in the shire in the past 10 years.

“We can analyse crash data and tap the knowledge of our engineers and the Police. However, to get a better understanding as to why crashes occur, and where the main problems are, we need feedback from the local community,” he said.

Baw Baw Shire statistics showed in the past 10 years, 1667 casualty crashes occurred, resulting in 59 fatalities and 697 serious injuries.

Cr Gauci said while current council projects were already assessed for road safety before their acceptance and delivery, council’s commitment to the creation of a road safety strategy will identify the greatest risk areas and trends of crashes within the shire, allowing road safety efforts to be focused towards identified goals, and maximise the road safety benefits provided to the community.

“Community input will be obtained via a questionnaire. This will help us to identify trouble spots and get a better appreciation of the conditions and circumstances encountered by road users.

The short survey is designed to give council a better idea of the profile of road users across the shire.

Questions included in the survey ask how often people drive in the shire, safety concerns and how can council assist drivers, riders, and pedestrians in feeling safer on the roads.

The public survey will close on March 8. Council expects a draft strategy will be available for public comment from April and a final strategy presented to council in June.