A West Australian local government has issued a plea for drivers to slow down when going through roadworks out of concern for the safety of their workers.
The Shire of West Arthur, south of Perth, covers an area of about 2,850 square kilometres.
Dylan Anderson
Rising Incidents at Roadworks
Shire president Neil Morrell said they were seeing more frequent incidents of people ignoring reduced speed limits.
"We've had one of our graders hit by a light truck recently due to the fact that [the driver] didn't slow down," he said.
Mr Morrell added that the problem extended beyond his region.
"At an inter-shire meeting the other week, we brought this topic up and other [shire] CEOs and presidents said they've all got the same issue," he said.
"We've got roadworks signs and everything like that, but people are just ignoring those."
National Survey Highlights the Danger
The 2024 National Traffic Controller Safety Survey collected responses from more than 1,500 traffic controllers across Australia.
The survey found more than half had encountered vehicles that failed to stop at traffic control sites at least once a week, and 44 per cent reported near misses with speeding vehicles in the previous 12 months.
In January, a traffic controller was killed on the Western Highway in Victoria while packing up road signage.
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Authorities Emphasize Safety
WA Police Minister Reece Whitby stressed the need for motorists to obey posted speed limits around roadworks.
"If you've got someone who ignores those speed reductions and goes past at 100kph when they are on the edge of a road, it can be quite frightening for them and it's plainly dangerous," he said.
"Obey the law because it's not just you you're putting at risk — it's the lives of those workers who are just doing their job that deserve to be safe."
Call for Navigation App Changes
Traffic Management Association of Australia (TMAA) chief executive Matthew Bereni said speed limits for roadworks were mandatory, not advisory.
The TMAA has started a petition calling for navigation apps to change their roadwork alerts. They want messaging to shift from "roadworks ahead" to "slow down for road workers."
"When we start talking about road workers, we are talking about individuals who have families and who have a right to go home safe at the end of the day," Mr Bereni said.
The goal is to highlight the human aspect of roadworks and ensure drivers appreciate the risks workers face.
Dylan Anderson
Dylan Anderson
