Drivers fined during a Victoria Police speeding sting on the South Gippsland Highway in mid April have been provided a ray of hope with the removal of nearly two kilometres worth of Road Work Ahead 40 signs.
Woe betide speeding through an unmanned workzone on a weekend in Gippsland. That heinous crime could land you with the life altering scenario of losing your licence, and up until this past weekend, there was seemingly no recourse to appeal.
That the stretch of South Gippsland Highway from McKittericks Road to Charlton Road has long been in need of resurfacing there is no doubt. So it was with welcome, and a tinge of foreboding about delays, when roadwork signs were finally put down in March.
The prospect of long waits at lights was offset by the thought of newly laid bitumen to accompany other decent driving surfaces along the highway. Frustration was soon to follow though.
It was some time before work began on a 100 metre stretch of road on the bend at Whitelaws Track, which at the point of writing was still ongoing and remains the only part of the road under construction.
But it was the fact that the works themselves were fully 2.1 kilometres west of the first Road Work Ahead 40 sign that was truly irksome. And for some travelling that stretch on Sunday April 13, it was more than simply annoying, with 13 drivers issued speeding fines, some resulting in licence suspensions (the signs start 200m from the works on the Meeniyan side).
Victoria Police jubilantly advertised their haul of fines on their Eyewatch - Bass Coast Police facebook page on the evening of the sting, leading to an outpouring of comments from the public.
“Feels like they’re just out hunting for easy fines. They say it’s about safety, but it’s hard not to see it as a cash grab”, and “Everyone are [sic] sick to death of this absolutely obscene revenue raising masquerading as road traffic safety!”, were common rebukes for the “Operation Expeditiously” post.
Prom Coast News was contacted by one of the drivers caught for speeding and suspended for six months who is astounded at the severity of the fine.
“I understand what dangerous driving is. If you’re doing 140 in a 100 zone, well that’s just reckless and dangerous. If you’re speeding when there’s road workers, that’s reckless and dangerous, same as in a school zone, I get that,” he said.
“But not two kilometres from 50 metres of roadworks when there’s no road work going on, that’s what I don’t comprehend”, he added.
The removal of the original signs and replacement with ones, which for at least one of those fined, would have meant they would never have been pulled over in the first place, has given hope that despite them being handed mandatory suspension of their license, they will have recourse to action in a court of law. Or better still, that the matter will be dropped before it gets to that point.
“What a shambles”, said one of the fined drivers, “I would have been fine with no suspended license if this sensible signage was in place two weeks ago”. David Barrett
