Melbourne tram near misses: Nearly 600 passengers hit in two months

A woman thrown on to a car bonnet is among the victims of lead-footed motorists failing to give way to trams. See the most dangerous stops.

Almost 600 passengers getting off the tram were nearly mown down by lead-footed motorists in the past two months, amid a “concerning” spike in near misses across the network.

The Herald Sun can reveal the highest number of near misses between cars and commuters were recorded in the past two months over two years, with 271 incidents in February, and 311 in March.

On top of the near misses, seven people have been struck by vehicles while trying to get on or off trams this year.

In 2020, 16 people were hit by vehicles.

Tram stops along Chapel St, and Victoria St in Richmond, are among Melbourne’s most dangerous for people hopping on and off — accounting for 295 near misses since 2018.

The Victoria and Church St stop (65 incidents) and Victoria and Lennox St stop (61 incidents) were the worst.

A new campaign is urging drivers to stop to allow people off the tram.

These were followed by the Chapel St and Toorak Rd intersection which recorded 59 near misses each on both routes 78 and 58.

South Melbourne’s Clarendon and Park St stop recorded 38 incidents since 2018 – with 1,833 across the network last year.

It’s prompted the Department of Transport and Yarra Trams to launch a new safety campaign “When A Tram Stops, You Stop,” in a bid to halt the soaring number of dangerous passes.

Yarra Trams chief executive Julien Dehornoy reminded drivers it was illegal to speed past a tram.

“The increase in motorists illegally passing stopped trams and putting passengers at risk of serious injury is very concerning,” he said.

The campaign comes as the state government installs $2.7 million raised kerbs along more than five kilometres of tram tracks in Melbourne’s CBD to prevent vehicles colliding into trams, costing taxpayers up to $3.5 million a year.

A tram was derailed at the intersection of Exhibition and Collins streets after a collision with a car. Picture: Supplied

The kerbing is being built along Bourke, Collins and Elizabeth streets – the three corridors with the highest number of crashes.

In the three years to December 2020, there were 378 minor collisions and seven serious smashes.

Since 2018, Collins St has had 200 vehicle collisions, Elizabeth (143) and Bourke St (70).

Public Transport Minister Ben Carroll said the kerbing would help improve safety for commuters and reduce delays.

“We see too many dangerous and disruptive collisions between cars and trams in the city – so we’re separating the tram tracks on some of our busiest CBD streets to create safer roads for everyone,” he said.

Public Transport Users Association spokesman Daniel Bowen said some of the city’s tram stops were “really dangerous” and while upgrades could improve safety, ultimately it was the responsibility of the motorist to stop.

“Clearly not enough is being done as it is happening so regularly, education is important as is enforcement, making sure that motorists who do flout the law don’t get away with it,” he said.

RACV Senior Manager Transport, Planning and Infrastructure Peter Kartsidimas urged road users to “respect each other” and follow the rules.

“An increase in incidents regarding disembarking tram passengers and motorists is a timely reminder for drivers to ensure they stop at the rear of the tram and give way to people getting on and off,” he said.

[e-mail]