‘Our communities are hurting’: Highway head-on prompts plea for better roads

A horror crash on the Bruce Highway has renewed calls from the Wide Bay MP and former police officer. “The ripples of crashes like these are felt throughout the community.’

Federal MP for Wide Bay Llew O'Brien has called for safer roads following a horror fatal crash on the Bruce Highway on the Fraser Coast.

The Tinana section of the Bruce Highway has been the setting for several fatal car crashes over the past year, the most recent of which claimed the life of a 61-year-old woman on Tuesday.

Federal Member for Wide Bay and former first responder Llew O’Brien, while extending his deepest sympathy to those involved, told the Chronicle the head-on collision was a painful reminder of the need not only for driver safety but for four lane roads where people have somewhere to get out of the way.

“The ripples of crashes like these are felt throughout the community, they cost lives and irreversibly change lives, and we all must learn from them,” he said.

“Regrettably this crash along this notorious stretch of the Bruce Highway is yet another a tragic reminder for us all to be safe on the road.

“Every crash, injury and fatality highlights the need for more to be done by everyone to improve road safety, whether that’s through safer roads and safer vehicles, improved driver education and behaviour, and targeted and regulation and law enforcement.”

Mr O’Brien said building a four-lane divided highway with a concrete barrier between opposing directions of travel was the best tool governments have within their reach to prevent head on collisions.

“I hope all governments are listening, because our communities are hurting,” Mr O’Brien said.

Mr O’Brien has been promoting a petition calling for four-lanes at the Tiaro Bypass, between Gympie and Maryborough, instead of the current two which have been agreed on in a state and federal funding split deal.

State Member for Maryborough Bruce Saunders echoed Mr O’Brien’s comments calling for safer driver behaviour on Fraser Coast roads and said “let’s work with the Federal Government to make it safer”.

There was however no mention of a shift in support for the Tiaro Bypass project in its current form.

The petition for four lanes instead of two has been lodged on the Queensland parliament website and has so far attracted more than 2600 signatures.