Wednesday 12 October 2011

No roundabout or lights for black spot

: There will be no major infrastructure changes to the Port Douglas Road/Captain Cook Highway intersection. Image by freefoto.com.

A Main Roads Department safety audit has found no fault with the notorious Captain Cook Highway and Port Douglas Road intersection, halting a public push for a roundabout or traffic lights to be installed.

The safety audit of the infamous intersection, which has been the subject of ongoing crashes this year, found existing infrastructure provided motorists with adequate visibility to move safely through the intersection.

Minor changes, including relocating road signage and repainting linemarking to improve safety for motorists turning right into Port Douglas Road, will take place as a result.

The report stated it supported the opinion of Queensland Police Service that crashes were caused by motorists driving without due care and attention and that signals or a roundabout wouldn’t be suitable in the short-term due to low traffic volumes.

Engineers also looked at traffic volumes and crash history and analysed existing physical factors at the intersection, including linemarking, signage, lighting, speed limit and visibility.

Roadside vegetation on the southbound approach to the intersection will also be cut back to improve visibility for motorists approaching the intersection from the north.

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Editor's Comments: I agree that the majority of accidents would be caused by drivers not paying attention, or losing concentration, but don't traffic lights and roundabouts cause people to snap out of their daze and focus on what's ahead? I wonder what will happen if there is a serious accident after these works are done? Let's hope we don't have to find out.

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Will DEVLIN, 16-10-11 15:56:

Whilst I await a copy of the apparent report which comes to the conclusion that there is not sufficient traffic to warrant better control at the intersection of CC Highway and PD Road, the reasons attributed to Main Roads engineers by your reporter seem simplistic at best. There are a number of questions raised, none of which seems to have been asked or addressed. 1. What is the critical mass of traffic before basic safety is addressed? 2. Who takes responsibility for vehicles making a legal right turn against oncoming traffic when the closing speed (represented by adding the speeds of two head-on vehicles together) is likely to be in the order of greater than 100km/h? 3. What does CRC have to say about this state of affairs? Whilst it is the responsibility of Main Roads, surely those to whom we pay rates - as well as road users - are key stakeholders?

My employer, rightly, bans me from making adverse comments on Govt policy and I accept that. But I would be suggesting to the motorists of the Far North, both from Cairns and the old shire, to rail against this decision on the basis that it is bureacracy gone mad. The decision-maker/s will have blood on their hands in the very likely eventuality of a fatality at the intersection.

By the way, can we rid ourselves of the awful term 'accident'? It conveys a notion of just another bingle. What happens when two or more vehicles collide is a 'crash' and those who attend as part of their community duties don't enjoy pulling people out of crashed vehicles.

Keep up the fight.

John Onto, 12-10-11 17:18:

If the rational "without due care and attention" is the key criterion for not installing appropriate warning signs, flashing lights or stop signs, then we should remove all traffic lights, railway crossing gates and any other signage Australia wide. What a ludicrous piece of reasoning. This is one of the few intersections in Australia where drivers turning left have to give way to those turning right and for that reason alone warrants extra warning signs. Regrettably, as Nadine says, someone needs to die to get this danger spot rectified.

John

Richard , 12-10-11 14:40:

Many years ago in not too big a city, my kids went to school near a very busy dual carriagway. Children from both sides of the carriageway went to that school. Obviously from one side of the carriageway you had to cross the road to get to school. Some of the kids walked with their parents, some didn't. Up the road a couple of hundred metres was a crossing which some used and some didn't. After a couple of near misses with kids and parents running across the road playing chicken with the traffic somebody started a petition to get a bridge built so that everyone could get across the road safely (sensible and non sensible people.)
"There's no need for a bridge" cried all the do-gooders. "When our children went to that school there was never any near misses as we were all a lot more sensible back then.......!" The bridge over the road never got built as a result of that petition and children and adults alike continued to put their own lives as well as those of others at risk. However, some time later a small child was run over and killed whilst running across that very same stretch of road. That very same stretch of road that all and sundry sneered at some months before.
There are two structures on that stretch of road now. One is a small monument that pays tribute to a lost one. You can probably guess what the other structure is can't you? Believe me.....prevention is much better than the cure. Let's hope those that have made this decision now spend more time and money on driver education to limit the risk at this interesection. We'll see..............

Graeme , 12-10-11 11:21:

Agree with Faye - need a STOP sign at PD road. More importantly we should change the current GIVE WAY rule for traffic turning RIGHT into PD Road so they have to GIVE WAY TO ALL TRAFFIC heading south on Cook Highway, including those turning left into PD Road. This would stop drivers looking "past" southbound traffice knowing they have to GIVE WAY to ALL cars on Cook Highway. Wouldn't cost much either!

anthony buckley, 12-10-11 10:23:

The safety audit committee of the DMR could be best described as a bunch of idiots.
I agree with Faye and Nadine.A STOP sign is essential as no one up here pays a blind bit of notice oft Give Way signs.
Regretfully we will have to wait for our first fatalities.
Speed is another factor in the equation.It is impossiblr for waitng drivers at the intersection to determine the speed of oncoming vechicles,most doing well over 80.

Faye Lilley, 12-10-11 09:40:

How about put a STOP sign at Port Douglas Road instead of a GIVE WAY sign, I don't understand why it's not a Stop sign at such an major intersection. There are so many insignificant intersections in Port with Stop signs whereas this intersection really needs one.

Nadine Jones, 12-10-11 09:34:

I agree Matt. 2 years ago I was in an accident there. The driver who failed to give way to told me that he was "just so excited to finally get to Port Douglas" that he lost all concentration. Traffic lights or a roundabout would keep driver's more alert.
I suppose we have to wait until someone is killed so that the safety audit process can start all over again!