Following the truck crashing into a local family’s shed last week on Tilga Street, Canowindra, there have been a lot of comments from many people in the town about the circumstances surrounding this accident. Some comments include, “this intersection should never have been changed”, “why was it designed this way?”,“the island is ridiculous, it’s too intrusive on people driving down the road. It’s too easy to clip!” and the list goes on.
Whilst these sorts of comments are always bandied around after an event such as this it is always good to remember that before a change can be made, careful investigation and deliberation must be undertaken by the Roads and Maritime Services.
Councillor Anthony Durkin has commented that:” Whilst I have to declare an interest in this because it is a Police matter, I have asked the Director of Engineering at Cabonne Council to look into the circumstances of the accident to see whether it was driver error or whether it was due to the structure of the road.” He went onto say, “it is now up to the experts to look at all of the evidence and make recommendations in relation to this intersection to see whether it stays as it is or changes are made.”
The driver at the time said that he had clipped the side of the median strip that has recently been put in to aid pedestrians walking across the road. The steering tyre exploded and the driver lost control, veering into the shed. It was extremely lucky that no-one was injured this time around and the driver, though badly shaken, was unharmed- we’re not sure if the luck will hold should there be a second incident.
By Cheryl Newsom