Road maintenance can be a dangerous task, often requiring Council repair teams to work on roads with blind corners, or with speed limits of 100km per hour.
"Over the past few months, the Council road works staff have been placed in danger through the actions of a number of motorists ignoring traffic control, and racing through their worksites," said Lithgow City Council Mayor Cassandra Coleman. "Traffic control exists to protect our workers. Each worker you see on our roads, whether it is a state highway or a Council road, have a family that rely on them. They have children, parents, husbands, wives and partners that expect them home that night. They may be your friends or neighbours."
"Ignoring traffic control and placing our staff at risk is unacceptable," continued Mayor Coleman. "The safety of our staff is the highest priority for the Council. If any of our construction or repair teams on the job feel that their safety is at risk from dangerous drivers, we will support their efforts to shut the road works site down. Sites are also under surveillance, and we will not hesitate to refer the details of the offending motorist to the NSW Police."
When road work sites are closed due to dangerous driver behaviour, other implications include delays to the road works onsite and increased cost of repairs.
On average, a driver's reaction time is 1.5 seconds. This includes the time it takes to recognise the danger and then take action, such as applying the brakes. However, this can be much longer if the driver is tired, distracted, or impaired, greatly increasing stopping distances and the risk of a crash. If a motorist is travelling at 100km per hour, in 1.5 seconds, they will cover the length of almost half a football field.
Lowering speeds at worksites can be the difference between life and death in the event of an accident. Council reminds all motorists to observe speed limits and other traffic management requirements around road works.
