Road Traffic (Work Area Speed Limit Signs) Amendment Bill

Second Reading

Adjourned debate on second reading.

(Continued from 10 March 2016.)

Dr McFETRIDGE (Morphett) (11:03): There is nothing more frustrating for a motorist than to see speed limit signs put up on roadworks when those roadworks are complete, almost complete or, certainly at the time of them going through the roadworks, there is no evidence of any roadworks in place. We obviously need to protect our road workers, just as we need to protect our emergency services workers with 25 km/h speed limits past incidents.

The need to have a sensible approach to speed limits around roadworks though is something that I think not only frustrates me personally but continually frustrates many South Australians. I do not believe for one moment that the vast majority of South Australians—I think 99.99 per cent of South Australians—deliberately speed or recklessly speed. They want to keep our roads as safe as possible, particularly for our road workers and our emergency services workers. The need to make sure that we are able to cope with 2016 pressures on people when they are getting about their business is something that this government needs to look at, and needs to look at in a very deep and sincere way.

Driving down Happy Valley Drive this morning, where lights are being put up to improve the safety of that road at night (which is a fantastic thing), the traffic was slowed down and diverted across to one side with traffic cones. It was all well laid out and well marked out. It is normally an 80 km/h speed limit, but was slowed to 60 km/h and then 25 km/h as I approached the work site.

Going past the work site, there was no demarcation, there were no bollards and there was certainly no activity going on for, I would say, at least 200 yards, if not more; however, the 25 km/h speed was still in place. There were no problems at all approaching the work site or driving past it. We want to make sure that our road workers go home safe and well to their families after what they have done for us on the roads. But, surely, a bit of common sense would show that you do not need to keep going at 25 km/h for all that way past the work site. Let us have a little common sense in here.

The need to do this is something that is not hard; it is not going to be difficult. I think that when people look at this they will say, 'Well, that is a good thing to do. We are protecting our road workers, but we are applying a bit of common sense to these limits.' I very strongly support this bill.

Mr WINGARD (Mitchell) (11:06): I also rise today to speak in support of this bill. This is an issue that is regularly raised with my office. As we know, this bill enforces the removal of 25 km/h signs when workmen or workwomen have left the site, and it enables fines to be issued if this is not done.

As the member for Morphett mentioned, it is very much about common sense. Of course we want safety to be adhered to, and we want workers to be safe when they are working in these conditions on our roads around state. But, when there is no road work being done, or when there are no workers present on a site, we cannot see why these signs are not removed so that we can get the speed limits on the road back to a safe speed, at either the normal speed or at least a speed above 25 km/h.

As I said, it is something that a lot people have contacted my office about, and it is a big frustration and bugbear in South Australia. When we go through roadworks and there are people present, again I stress that everyone wants our workers to be safe in that environment; however, when people have gone home and that 25 km/h sign stays up, there is no safety reason for it to be there. It is a bugbear of all commuters in South Australia, and people are very frustrated.

I raised this issue back in October last year and I did get a lot of correspondence in my office. I know the minister spruiked his Operation Moving Traffic in July last year, and it was suggested that this issue might be addressed in that operation. It has been nearly 12 months and we have not seen any action in this area. Again, as the member for Morphett said, it is just a common-sense move and common-sense measure to put in place the bill that the member for Unley put forward.

This bill would ensure that when work is not being done in a roadworks area and all is safe, the 25 km/h would be replaced with a higher speed limit to keep traffic moving in order to stop congestion and frustration for drivers within our city and also the country regions. I have been in many a country region where there are road signs still up on the side of the road for roadworks and, in fact, there are no roadworks.

It is one small measure, and I think it fits in to what South Australians would like and call for. It is something that can be done very quickly. I commend the member for Unley for bring this bill before the house and ask that action is taken very swiftly to relieve the frustration of drivers in South Australia.

Ms WORTLEY (Torrens) (11:08): I move:

That the debate be adjourned.

The house divided on the motion:

Ayes 22

Noes 15

Majority 7

Motion thus carried; debate adjourned.