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Letters to the Editor
Writing letters to the Editor
Each letter must be accompanied with the writer’s full name, address and phone number (name and suburb for publication only) and limited to 300 words. Letters to be received via post or email (preferred option).
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The Editor has the right to limit the amount of words in each letter received and published letters are at the discretion of the Editor. Send your letters to news@themooraboolnews.com.au
Dear Editor,
Country Victorians know too well the state of regional roads: potholes are craters, road edges are cliff faces and any romantic notions of a gentle Sunday drive in the country are well gone.
Last year’s wet conditions only made things worse – but the problem of poorly maintained roads is not a new one. Poorly constructed roads is not new either.
Members of the Police force deal with the result of bad roads every day. Local officers confront the scene of an accident, and in the case of a fatality, deal with the brutal imagery for the rest of their lives.
If we have not done it ourselves, we have watched other vehicles swerving to miss a massive pothole. Some are avoided, some are not – but either action can lead to an accident.
I note a recent interview on 3AW radio with the Victorian Police Assistant Commissioner, Road Policing Command, Mr Glenn Weir, who admitted that his officers were ‘constantly’ alerting road authorities to the parlous condition of Victoria’s road network.
But what he also admitted was that serious and fatal accidents currently under investigation involved damaged road infrastructure.
Put simply, Victoria’s bad roads are leading to car accidents in which some people have died.
It is why I have raised the matter in the Parliament of Victoria.
On your behalf, I have asked the Minister for Police to provide a breakdown on the percentage of serious and fatal road accidents in Victoria in which police officers have identified road conditions as a contributing factor.
I don’t think I’m asking too much for Victorian motorists to be able to drive on safe roads.
