A MORANDING resident has had enough of what he calls reckless driving along the Northern Highway outside his property, which he claims has registered 17 accidents in a 12-month span.
Brian Woodhouse-Young has seen a multitude of frightening accidents over this period, which he says leaves him worried about sleep, particularly when it rains, as drivers are failing to adhere to the given speed limits along the stretch of road.
Outside the Talamasca Stud facility, the roads are signposted for drivers to reduce their speed from 100 kilometres per hour to 60 kilometres per hour, with further signs asking drivers not to overtake and to be mindful of a rough surface, which also has significant shine on the road, leaving the surface slippery.
However, Mr Woodhouse-Young says drivers are casually speeding through the area, leaving him concerned that another big crash is around the corner, referencing the 17 crashes over the last 12 months.
“It’s a huge number. You shouldn’t have to put up with that,” he said.
Mr Woodhouse-Young’s frustration reached boiling point after seeing a young mother with three children escape injury after being sideswiped by another driver in the overtaking lane on the slippery surface directly opposite his property.
“The final straw was a young mum that was sideswiped by a guy speeding up the hill, which wrote off both cars. The mum had three young kids in the car, and luckily, everyone was seatbelted, so there was only soft tissue damage, no cuts and bruises and no broken bones,” he said.
Only adding to Mr Woodhouse-Young’s frustration, wet nights leave him struggling for sleep, saying there are only accidents waiting to happen, and leaving him fearing that a car may crash through his property.
“The eighth accident this year was someone who flipped and landed under two cyprus trees. If he hadn’t have stopped, he would have crashed straight through my bedroom,” he said.
“As soon as it starts to rain, you are laying in bed with one eye open waiting for a crash, so I’m not sleeping.”
Mr Woodhouse-Young praised the Mitchell Shire Council for their efforts, who he says was doing as much as possible, despite the road being managed by VicRoads, while he also says trying to get a hold of police to help was a frustrating manner.
“Council has been very helpful, they’ve kept me in touch with what’s possibly happening, but they can’t confirm anything yet. I haven’t been able to get to police yet, as they are all on rotation. The only consistency is from the tow truck drivers,” he said.
