Patch-up job

SO ONCE again Vicroads is going to cobble together a “repair“ job on Chum Creek Road.
And just to make sure we all understand that these accidents were all our fault, they will reduce the speed limit to 60km/h.
Could I point out that there are distinct probabilities that the narrowness of the road, coupled with open drains, and lousy surfaces, and poor maintenance are much more likely to be the cause of these accidents, not the excessive speed limit of 70km/h.
Go along the Chum on any day and you can see vehicle drivers leaning on the centre lines, because they are too concerned about getting near the edges because of the poor conditions that we have put up with for years. Any bus or truck traffic has to be very wary of its placement on the road for fear of going over, because the road is too narrow, and woe betide any one of them that is faced with a similar-sized vehicle coming towards them.
A guard rail of 110 metres. Wow, that will save a lot of accidents. What about the other three kilometres? Then, who is to blame if a car hits a guard rail and is propelled into oncoming traffic? Surely that will be us, not Vicroads, who haven’t done anything other than a piecemeal repair on this road for decades.
So Vicroads, pipe all the drains, widen the shoulder so the road is a safe width and the rate of accidents will reduce as vehicle drivers can see the road is a bit safer to drive on. The speed limit was reduced to 60 years ago, and it lasted only a few months when it was realised it was ridiculous to have done so, and this should be realised now.
Steve Odell,
Chum Creek.