New footage has shown the shocking dangers facing roadside workers in Queensland

Queensland’s peak motoring body has released shocking footage of road side workers exposed to near misses and close calls, highlighting risky locations for RACQ breakdown crews.

QUEENSLAND’S peak motoring body has released shocking footage of road side workers exposed to near misses and close calls.

RACQ Head of Technical and Safety Policy Steve Spalding said the footage revealed the perilous danger faced by its roadside crews.

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“We’re seeing drivers failing to slow down, merging dangerously, not concentrating, and at times causing their vehicles to spin out of control – all within metres of our roadside workers,” Mr Spalding said.

Horrifying footage of near misses involving RACQ roadside workers has led to calls for motorists to slow down and move over. Picture: RACQ

“These are all near-misses, but what it highlights are the dangers for those working on the roadside helping stranded motorists. It takes just one wrong move and roadside workers’ and motorists’ lives are at risk.”

Findings from a RACQ survey this week revealed 93 per cent of its roadside workers reported driver distraction as their greatest concern.

More than 85 per cent said vehicles which passed too closely or at high speed made them feel unsafe.

RACQ Head of Technical and Safety Policy Steve Spalding. Picture: Annette Dew

“These Queenslanders deserve to feel safe in their workplace, and while they take precautions to minimise risk, they rely on the motoring public to do their bit to ensure everyone gets home to their families,”,” Mr Spalding said.

“Drivers on their mobile phones ranked as their great safety concern, which goes to show despite distraction being one of the Fatal Five, many are still willing to risk the lives of themselves and others.”

The RACQ along with Assistant Police Commissioner Mike Keating and the Safer Australian Roads and Highways (SARAH) Group today launched a campaign urging drivers to move over and slow down when they passed roadside workers.

It coincides with National Road Safety Week which runs until Sunday and has seen key Brisbane landmarks like the Storey Bridge lit up in yellow.

The safety week is spearheaded by SARAH whose founder, Peter Frazer, lost his daughter seven years ago in a roadside accident in the emergency lane.

Peter and Judy Frazer, the parents of Sarah Frazer (23) who was hit by a truck and killed when she broke down on the Hume Highway in NSW.

It has seen ‘slow down, move’ over legislation introduced in NSW, Victoria, Western Australia, South Australia and the ACT.

The laws limit vehicles to a speed limit of 40km/h when passing emergency service incidents while WA has extended the protection to roadside assistance crews.

Originally published as New footage has shown the shocking dangers facing roadside workers in Queensland