By Tyler Wright
The Rowville community is calling for additional road safety measures after a local man died in a collision on Wellington Road on Thursday 11 January.
It is believed 52-year-old father of two Yunesh Naidu was turning right from Braeburn Parade onto Wellington Road when a truck travelling west on the aterial collided with his Kia just before 9am.
It is also understood the truck also collided with two other vehicles, before a third vehicle was damaged after a traffic light pole fell on it.
The occupants of the other vehicles were not injured, with the truck driver, a 27-year-old Dandenong man, released pending further enquiries.
27-year-old pharmacist Lisa Di Donato was leaving Wellington Village Shopping Centre when she was killed in 2018 after a drug driver crashed a borrowed ute into her side door at more than 80 kilometres per hour as she sat at traffic lights.
“How many more lives will be lost before something is done. Come on VicRoads – two lives gone and many near misses – two too many,” Nicole Stanbury wrote on petition platform change.org.
“I shouldn’t fear for my life going to the local shops,” Jennifer Coles also wrote.
Wellington Road takes motorists from Clematis through to Clayton.
According to state government data, 15,000 vehicles on average travel west bound on Wellington Road between Stud Road and Taylors Lane in Rowville daily.
Of that number, 917 of those vehicles were trucks.
Local resident Mark Plews, who runs the Rowville Community Group Facebook page, said he has seen “a lot of near misses” with regard to trucks and cars pulling out in front of traffic coming down Wellington Road over the past several years.
“It’s not just the trucks, but what’s happening is you’re coming down a long stretch of road that is very open and you’re all of a sudden hitting a set of traffic lights,” Mark said.
“We regularly get accidents on that intersection, and probably about a year and a half ago or so VicRoads put in a 40k zone during school hours, but it comes from 80, down to several traffic lights back up to 80 and then straight into 40, so it’s a mishmash of speed limits.
“We also have two day cares, a school, a playground, a church, a community centre, a fire station and a medical centre along that stretch of road as well as native wildlife.”
Mark has since launched an online petition calling for the reduction of the 80 kilometre per hour speed limit on Wellington Road from Stud Road to Napoleon Road to 60 kilometres per hour alongside the installation of red light and speed cameras facing both east and west at the intersection with Silkwood Way and Braeburn Parade.
“There’s always roadkill, there’s always accidents, and we’ve now had two fatalities, and I feel that something needs to be done to reduce the speed of the traffic coming down the hill from Lysterfield,” he said.
“There’s just no deterrence through that area…unfortunately this poor man has lost his life because a truck travelled through that intersection and they’re damn scary; they’re 30 tonnes, they’re fully laden with gravel.
“Something needs to be done.”
Mark said “hundreds of messages” flooded the community Facebook page on the day of the accident.
“Over the course of that morning….’this is terrible, this is awful, this didn’t need to happen,'” he said.
“The gut -wrenching feeling that myself and I know a lot of the community had that day because of what happened was just phenomenal.”
The petition on change.org now has close to 2,800 signatures in support.
Commenter Michelle Fernando said she was at the scene of the incident, and the “dual haul truck” hit the street lamp post that fell on her car.
“My two young children were with me, and one metre more would have seriously harmed them or potentially killed all of us,” Michelle said.
“More than one life has been lost at this intersection.
“It is time for the speed limit to be reduced and red light cameras to be installed. Please do something to make a difference before more innocent lives are lost.”
In a statement published online on Friday 12 January, Knox City Council Mayor Jude Dwight said the council “will be following up with the Department of Transport and Planning on what action can be taken”.
“It is important that we let the investigation run its course and determine the likely causes of the accident,” the Mayor said.
“Our community has long expressed concerns about truck movements along this stretch of Wellington Road.
“The safety of all road users is paramount, and everything that can be done should be done to keep everyone safe.”
She also offered her condolences.
“Our hearts go out to the family and loved ones of the person who died in this tragic accident.”
A Department of Transport and Planning spokesperson said any death on roads is a “tragedy”.
“Our thoughts are with all those who have been impacted,” the spokesperson said.
“We’ll work with Victoria Police to understand the circumstances and to provide support to the investigation where required.”
It is believed the Department of Transport and Planning, when determining safety improvements, consider a range of factors such as the road environment, the types of road users, the site’s historical safety record, and the impact the improvements would have on the surrounding road network.
When safety improvements are under consideration, it is understood the Department of Transport and Planning engages in detailed consultation with stakeholders impacted across the community.
In 2019, the then Liberal-National Coalition Government pledged $110 million for the duplication of Wellington Road between Napoleon Road and Berwick Road.
Funding for the project was not included by the Federal Labor Government in its 2022-2023 budget.
A spokesperson for the Department of Justice and Community Safety Victoria said “any death on our roads is a tragedy and our thoughts are with all those who have been impacted by road trauma”.
“Victoria’s road safety camera program plays a critical role in changing driver behaviour and saving lives. Road safety cameras are proven to be one of the most effective ways to get motorists to slow down and follow the road rules,” the spokesperson said.
“The placement of fixed road safety cameras is carefully determined by the Road Safety Camera Site Selection Committee (the RSCSSC).
“People can nominate a camera site via the Cameras Save Lives website at http://Vic.gov.au/suggest-camera-location.”
The most recent data published on Victoria’s Cameras Save Lives website shows 99 per cent of vehicles passing fixed cameras do not receive a fine.
It is understood locations of Victoria’s mobile and fixed camera systems are determined based on a range of factors including crash history, engineering and environmental suitability and existing enforcement options.
