By Callum Ludwig
A serious crash on the Warburton Highway at Douthie Road in Seville East has reignited the concerns of locals who have been seeking safety measures for years.
Police believe the truck may have been driving “erratically” before it collided with a Nissan Patrol on Tuesday 29 November at around 1pm, with the Warburton Highway closed until 6.30pm following the incident.
Seville East resident Joel Supple is the admin of the Seville East Traffic Safety group on Facebook and said the group will keep working on the issue until they get what they think is the safest outcome for themselves and their kids.
“We are not going anywhere. We started about five years ago after a number of accidents and the death of one driver, and have made numerous attempts to get VicRoads to address the issue, everything from having plans drawn up, to getting the support of our local MP Bridget Vallence and lobbying to transport ministers,” he said.
“The only thing that has been done is to reduce the speed limit from 100 to 80 and some reflective guideposts and pavement put in. There have been accidents, there are blind turns and it is the only stretch of road that has multiple lanes of traffic that kids are expected to be able to cross over.”
Back in 2019 VicRoads conducted an extensive investigation into the stretch of the highway from Peters Road to Douthie Road, before it was expanded to include the section from Douthie Road to Old Warburton Highway with a particular focus on the Sunnyside Road intersection.
Mr Supple said traffic from both the Woori Yallock and Seville directions get the option to speed up or overtake on the troublesome part of the road, often hitting the gas pedal and taking off.
“If they’re not experienced drivers or they’re not paying attention, someone can be sitting blindly in the middle of the road trying to turn into one of the side roads. You are just sitting there watching your rear vision mirror, waiting for something to happen,” he said.
“People keep saying that drivers just have to drive better, but you can’t assume everyone is doing the right thing on the road. I’m scared to see what it will actually take to get something done. I have a 12-year-old starting high school next year, and we’ve got nothing in place to protect them when attempting to cross a highway by themselves.”
Concerned residents have indicated they want designated turning lanes at Douthie, Sunnyside and Stuart Roads, as well as an island-protected turning lane at Peters Road, as previously reported by the Mail.
Mr Supple said he feels like politics is being played with people’s lives.
“People aren’t paying attention, but that’s why we need turning lanes, why we need safety barriers, you need safety as much as you can. We feel like we are not being considered important, that our lives aren’t valued,” he said.
“We aren’t asking for anything dramatic, we think the solution can be resolved very easily and cheaply and within a realistic timeframe. We just want it to be safer for everyone living and driving through the area.”
VicRoads data collected between 2014 and 2019 has 17 separate accidents noted on the stretch of the Warburton Highway between the Douthie Road and Old Warburton Highway intersections.
A Department of Transport spokesperson said keeping all road users safe is their number one priority.
“That’s why we’ve reduced the speed limit on this section of the Warburton Highway and installed road reflective pavement and guideposts,” they said.
“We thank the community for their input and will continue to monitor traffic and safety at this location to determine where further improvements can be made.”
Further investigations are required to determine appropriate longer-term infrastructure improvements.
The Department of Transport considers and evaluates all requests for upgrades on a state-wide basis with consideration given to a number of factors, such as the number and type of vehicles using the intersection, the need to cater for pedestrians, the historical safety record of the site, and the impact that treating the intersection would have on the performance of the surrounding road network.
