Plan devised to improve safety on Greenmount Hill

7/1/94

A plan of action has been devised for improving traffic safety on Greenmount Hill in both the short and medium term.

Transport Minister Eric Charlton said immediate steps would be taken to stop all permit vehicles weighing more than 42.5 tonnes at the top of Greenmount Hill to allow drivers to check their braking systems and to ensure they engaged a low gear before descending.

At the same time, Main Roads would look at other ways of having non-permit vehicles abide by the same rule.

The plan was decided on today by the Minister, Main Roads engineers, senior police, road transport industry representatives and the RAC.

Other measures to be taken immediately include:

·       clear signposting on the western approaches to the summit of Greenmount Hill warning truck drivers of the compulsory stopping point;

·       signs on the approaches, including side entries from residential areas to Greenmount Hill, warning other motorists they will be interacting with heavy vehicles;

·       monitoring by Main Roads of the capacity of the existing stopping bay at the top of Greenmount Hill to cater for additional trucks (if necessary, the bay will be expanded);

·       convert a disused tourist information bay just west of the stopping bay into a location for overwidth/oversized vehicles to pull into, to ease congestion on the compulsory stopping point;

·       encourage truck drivers to use the left-hand lane while descending Greenmount Hill; and

·       more police patrols along the Greenmount section of Great Eastern Highway.

"More than 1,000 trucks come down Greenmount Hill each day, and these measures can be implemented immediately at little cost to improve the situation," Mr Charlton said.

In the medium term, other measures agreed to by the group which inspected the Greenmount site today were:

·       an interim Main Roads report in mid-February on the viability and cost of installing run-off bunkers and an emergency stopping lane for vehicles on the southern side of Greenmount Hill;

·       the provision of bus bays on the descent so that public buses can safely pick up and drop off passengers without hampering traffic flow;

·       an examination by police and Main Roads of a broader campaign to educate motorists on how to interact safely with heavy haulage vehicles in built-up areas;

·       implement more on-road truck inspections;

·       devise a means of regularly assessing the skills and competency of drivers operating heavy haulage vehicles: and

·       an approach to the National Road Transport Commission to have it review Australian design rules governing fail safe braking systems on trucks.

Also, Government backbenchers June van de Klashorst, John Day and Derrick Tomlinson will liaise with local government authorities in the Greenmount area to gauge reaction to another proposal to direct heavy haulage from Greenmount on to the Great Eastern Highway by-pass.

"It is significant that these measures have the approval of police and the road transport industry," Mr Charlton said.

"The long-term objective is to build the Orange Route, but to do that we need Commonwealth funds in the order of $100 million.

"In the meantime, the Government is pursuing ways of improving safety on this particular stretch of road.

"In many respects, it boils down to driver responsibility and awareness - both on the part of heavy vehicle operators and motorists."

Media contact:  Dean Roberts 321 7333