Danger days for troubled junctions

The Lakeside Boulevard and Princes Highway intersection was identified as a high-risk crash zone. 159889 Picture: STEWART CHAMBERS

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By Aneeka Simonis

THE worst casualty crash intersections and peak crash times have been revealed by police working to drive down road trauma in Cardinia shire.
Data shows that the majority of the top eight worst intersections for crashes causing injury are in Pakenham while one of the municipality’s most notorious sites has been removed from the list after upgrade safety works.
Three Pakenham intersections – Army Road and Pakenham Road; John Street and Princes Highway; and Lakeside Boulevard and Princes Highway – were among those junctions which saw the highest number of casualty crashes for the 12 months up September 2016.
Alongside those were the intersections at Beaconsfield Avenue and Old Princes Highway, Beaconsfield; Officer South Road and Princes Freeway, Officer; and Monomeith Road and South Gippsland Highway, Monomeith.
The intersection of Sybella Avenue and South Gippsland Highway in Kooweerup came in with a lower rate of crashes causing injury, however it recorded one fatality in the 12-month period. Police said the crashes may not have actually occurred at the junction but at roads closest to the intersection.
Significant safety infrastructure upgrades at the Dalmore Road and Manks Road intersection in Dalmore have seen the notorious site drop down the list of crash-prone sites in Cardinia shire.
It has seen numerous serious injury crashes and near-misses but Federal Black Spot funding was used to convert the danger intersection into a ‘staggered T’ configuration, forcing motorists to stop.
Police data also shows that three particular days were the worst for crashes.
On average, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday recorded the highest number of crashes over the 12-month period, with most occurring between 1pm and 6pm.
On Thursdays, most crashes occurred within a two-hour window from 4pm to 6pm.
On Saturdays, 5pm to 6pm was trouble hour on the roads while 3pm to 5pm on Sunday was more dangerous than at other during the day.
“These times and days seem to be causing some major problems,” said Cardinia Highway Patrol Sergeant Allen Inderwisch.
Police can’t be certain what is causing the crash peak at those times but suggest it may have something to do with fatigue.
Six people have lost their lives on Cardinia shire roads during the year-long period.
At least 64 motorists were hospitalised as a result of injuries sustained on local roads in the five months leading to February 2016.
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Eleven remained in hospital for more than 14 days.