House debates

Wednesday, 17 June 2020

Statements by Members

Road Safety

1:56 pm

Photo of Craig KellyCraig Kelly (Hughes, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

On Thursday 28 May, at approximately 4.40 pm, a Nissan Hatchback was travelling southbound on Alford's Point Road between the Alford's Point overpass and the lights at Menai. Following recent major upgrades to the road, from Alford's Point Bridge all the way to Sutherland, the road is divided by either a concrete barrier or wire ropes, except for that one small section where a line on the road divides it. At the same time, a Toyota Hilux was travelling northbound. The Nissan veered just a few metres across the line painted on the road, running head-on into the Hilux. Tragically, a man, 23, of Bangor and a woman, 23, of Yagoona died at the scene. The driver of the ute, a man, 46, was taken to St George Hospital suffering wrist and rib injuries.

This accident and these deaths could have been avoided. Studies have shown that flexible wire ropes and safety barriers can reduce fatalities on our roads by between 75 and 100 per cent. There are many things that governments can spend money on, but we need to give the absolute highest priority to dividing busy roads with concrete barriers and flexible wire safety ropes because, if we do that, we will save lives.

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