Roadside assist workers facing near misses in VIC, calls to cap speed limit gain momentum
09/27/2024 07:00 PM
The RACV is leaning on the Victorian Government to do something to protect recovery and breakdown vehicle workers, who are risking their lives every day.
Victorian vehicle recovery workers are almost being hit by passing cars or motorbikes 'at least once a week', an industry body has said.
A survey carried out by the Royal Automobile Club of Victoria (RACV) has found 83 per cent of surveyed workers are experiencing a near miss with another vehicle at least once a week while working on the side of the road.
One of the biggest safety issues, the report says, is that Victoria has a lot of roads with 'no, or insufficient, emergency lanes'.
This has led the organisation to put pressure on the Victorian Government to introduce a 40 km/h speed limit when driving past or overtaking roadside assistance vans or tow trucks.
"Safety is the number one priority for our patrols, members and customers," said RACV Head of Policy, James Williams.
"Our patrols have confirmed what we have known for a long time. Working in a high-speed environment is a safety hazard and the introduction of a 40 km/h speed limit when driving past or overtaking any incident response service is a long overdue control to reduce the risk."
Known as the 'Slow Down, Move Over' rule, Victoria remains the last state in Australia not to implement a 40 km/h limit for vehicles passing recovery trucks – with Victorian legislation only covering emergency services at present, with a maximum $777 fine for those not doing so.
Earlier this year, South Australia introduced a 25 km/h cap on cars passing breakdown and recovering vehicles in the state to protect workers.
Following a 12-month campaign from the state's peak motoring body, the Royal Automobile Association (RAA), the 25km/hr speed limit applies to these vehicles when their lights are flashing.
Between 2019-2023, there were 20 dangerous incidents caused by cars driving past breakdowns without due care, according to the RAA – five of which involved patrol vans being hit by cars or motorbikes.
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