NEWS DESK
Campaign tackles road trauma Stephen Taylor steve@mpnews.com.au OVER the next six weeks, Mornington Peninsula motorists will see blue and white signs in danger areas highlighting reasons to drive safely, such as: Because we need to protect our wildlife. The signs are part of a campaign by the Transport Accident Commission to curb road trauma and serious accidents. In the past five years, 37 people have died on peninsula roads, with another four deaths so far this year. The peninsula is the second local government area to pilot the TAC program, Drive Safely Because, which highlights local reasons to drive safely and lead to a safer community. The TAC’s involvement also follows efforts by Mornington Peninsula Shire and the RACV to drive down the number of road accidents on the peninsula (“Thumbs up to cut road speed” The News 10/5/21). The TAC has worked with the shire to set road safety priorities, particularly around protecting such vulnerable road users as children, pedestrians and cyclists. Its campaign will use events, promotions and visual reminders of how important road safety is to local communities to reduce road trauma. Roads and road safety minister Ben Carroll said keeping local roads safe was everyone’s responsibility. He said the campaign encouraged people to take ownership of road safety “in their own backyard”. “By partnering with local govern-
TAC at Somerville: Christine Albien, Police Acting Inspector Nat Dollard, Christopher-Bree Nyko, Jake Webb, Paulette Ziekemijjer, Paul Mercurio, Millie Davies, Despi O’Connor, Jorgia Goulopoulos and Police Acting Sergeant Raj Sharma. Picture: Gary Sissons
ments and directly targeting their priority areas, we hope this initiative will help make an immediate impact on the way people use roads,” Mr Carroll said. TAC head of road safety Samantha Cockfield said appealing to community mindedness through customised local messaging had an impact. “The grassroots campaign aims to humanise
road safety, and remind people that the foremost reasons to slow down and drive safely are the families and friends that we share our local roads with.” The mayor Cr Despi O’Connor said it was every driver’s responsibility to drive safely. “We hope our localised campaign will make people think twice before driving irresponsibly on our roads,” Cr O’Connor said.
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“Our families and friends use these roads and we want them to arrive home safe every day.” The campaign will target businesses, farmers’ markets, festivals, sports clubs and schools. Insights and data from the campaign will help inform future road safety partnerships with other local government areas.
COVID hot spots THREE Mornington Peninsula businesses have been added to the list of places visited by people confirmed to have COVID-19 while infectious. Visitors to all three premises who were there at the same time as the COVID positive person have been advised to get tested immediately and then quarantine for 14 days. The identification of the three sites and listing by the DHHS came as Greater Melbourne was plunged into a seven-day lockdown. The three businesses listed last week by the Department of Health and Human Services are the Enchanted Adventure Garden, Purves Road, Arthurs Seat; Peninsula Hot Springs (bathhouse reception area), Springs Lane, Fingal; and the Nordie Cafe, Mornington-Flinders Road, Red Hill. The DHHS says the infectious case was at the Nordie Cafe from just after 9am to 9.34am on Wednesday 26 May. Peninsula Hot Springs was visited on Friday 21 May from 3pm-3.45pm and the Enchanted Adventure Garden from 11.25am to 3pm on the same day. The cafe was first listed as a site where visitors have a higher risk of being exposed to COVID-19 on 26 May, followed by the hot springs on 29 May and the adventure garden on 30 May. The sites remain on the DHHS list for 14 days from the most recent exposure. There are nearly 300 exposure sites on the DHHS list at: coronavirus.vic.gov.au/exposure-sites Keith Platt
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2 June 2021
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