Tea Tree Rd could be state’s most dangerous road as pensioner traumatised by 11 accidents
Disability pensioner David Blackwell lives in fear he will see another road fatality outside his Eastern Shore home, after witnessing 11 in just five years he now must seek counselling for post-traumatic stress disorder. READ HIS PLEA >>
Tasmania
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DAVID Blackwell is living in fear of the next crash that may occur near his Tea Tree home, saying repeated serious accidents there in recent years have traumatised him.
The Tea Tree Rd resident says he has witnessed at least 11 accidents within 1.5km of his home since moving to the property in 2015, two of them which resulted in fatalities.
One of those happened in December 2017 when Mr Blackwell placed himself in danger and at risk of electrocution when removing an injured truck driver, Michael Thompson, from under fallen power lines after he had crashed.
Mr Thompson later died in hospital from injuries he sustained in the crash, but Mr Blackwell’s brave actions were praised by Coroner Olivia McTaggart this week in a report into the circumstances of Mr Thompson’s death.
Mr Blackwell, a 56-year-old disability pensioner, says he is traumatised by the incidents — including some that have occurred right outside his home — and has seen a counsellor for post traumatic stress disorder.
“It has affected me in the way that sometimes just for no reason if I see accidents on TV or different things to do with death, you sit there and cry for 20 minutes,’’ he said.
“I’ve just seen so many accidents.”
According to official crash data held by the Department of State Growth, there were two serious crashes last year alone along that stretch of road and a further one requiring first aid.
Mr Blackwell believes a reduction in the speed limit (currently 70km/h), upgrades to improve the condition of the road and more awareness are needed.
“There should be better signage. I would put a proper [picture of] car accident there to say ‘slow down or this could be you’,’’ he said.
He suggested that sign could be put up within his property to alert drivers to the dangers.
Road Safety Advisory Council chair Garry Bailey encouraged any citizen who had concerns about road safety to contact them.
“The important thing to emphasise is we all use the road, we all have to take responsibility and it’s great that someone who lives there and witnesses this is agitating for change,’’ he said.
“There are thousands of kilometres of state roads and if we want to see our road trauma reduced, we’ve got to start taking more responsibility behind the wheel.”
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