‘Patience’ vital to road safety

A group of Pilbara Industry Road Safety Alliance members have welcomed the latest joint Government and industry venture to bolster road safety, but believe more awareness is needed to “slow down and enjoy the ride”.

Heavy vehicle industry workers Mike Green, Darrell Littlewood and Charlie Price argue infrastructure upgrades as part of a State and Federal Government initiative with BHP is necessary but believe changing light vehicle user’s behaviour is vital to increase road safety.

The McGowan and Morrison governments have recently announced it would team with the mining giant to provide $36 million to build three new rail crossings in the Pilbara.

The first major project is expected to be the construction of a new 28m-long road-over-rail bridge, which will separate road and traffic at Nelson Point main line level crossing on Great Northern Highway in Port Hedland and will involve removing existing at-grade rail crossings.

The construction of a second bridge is also planned over BHP’s rail line on Buttweld Road as well as two new roundabouts.

Mr Green, from Pilbara Towings, said he was pleased to see plans for infrastructure to help improve safety but hoped to raise more awareness among light vehicle users about the importance of being patient on the road, mitigating fatigue and preparing cars for long journeys.

“Our workplace is intricately involved with public people and some of the driving standards are way below professional and that’s where we experience an extreme amount of frustration from our side in a heavy vehicle, dealing with people in a light vehicle,” he said.

“The crucial word is patience when dealing with heavy vehicles and I think that this year the important message is if it can go wrong it will go wrong.

“Don’t be lazy... check your tyre pressure, check your oil, check your water, be prepared to slow down if it’s hot and if it’s flooded, forget it.”

Mr Littlewood said raising the awareness of road safety in the public eye would help eliminate accidents.