Wednesday, 19 June 2024

Economy and Infrastructure Committee

Inquiry into the Impact of Road Safety Behaviours on Vulnerable Road Users

Jade BENHAM (Mildura) (10:59): My committee report statement today is on the Economy and Infrastructure Committee’s inquiry into the impact of road safety behaviours on vulnerable road users. It is important to note I think – and I have said this many times in this place – that the one thing that my office deals with the most is complaints about roads, intersections and potholes on regional and remote rural roads. Obviously there is confusion among constituents around who manages which roads. What is a council road? What is a state road? Usually the federal roads, I would hope, are pretty obvious to most but not always. So my focus today is on those vulnerable road users, particularly out in remote and rural areas around the great north-west or even over in East Gippsland.

There are sections throughout this report in fact that talk about cyclists and motorbike riders. I have been, and still am to a point, both of these. There is a certain level of vulnerability – in fact there is a very large aspect of vulnerability. It was interesting reading section 4.2, headed ‘Bike riders must be viewed as legitimate road users’. I had to giggle at that. With respect, of course bike riders are legitimate road users, but in some cases, in regional areas that have a high heavy vehicle traffic load on very small, narrow roads with crumbling shoulders, it is almost like those cyclists and bike users become target practice for some truck drivers and for some motorists. It gets back to section 2.1.1 in fact: drivers post COVID have become impatient; they have become aggressive. I in fact do not cycle anymore. I was part of a bicycle users group – the ones that get dressed in lycra and go for a coffee afterwards, or a milkshake.

Tim Bull interjected.

Jade BENHAM: I know – beautiful. Sorry for that visual. I apologise, member for Gippsland East.

A member interjected.

Jade BENHAM: I did look fabulous – in fact an all-in-one. I would go and do it on mornings like this, but I will not do it anymore, because it is –

A member interjected.

Jade BENHAM: The member for Gippsland East has in fact donned a lycra leotard, I believe, but in the name of charity, not for enjoyment. However, my point is –

Tim Bull interjected.

Jade BENHAM: Oh, both. He does it for enjoyment – not the enjoyment of others, I can assure you. But my point is that I do not cycle anymore on country roads, simply because it has become too unsafe. Being a mother to two stepchildren, the risk is simply too high. Not only are cyclists vulnerable on city roads, but as the report states, regional roads have become very, very dangerous, and it is because of the impact of heavy vehicles. We are not just talking about road trains anymore – I had this discussion yesterday. We are talking about B-quads and we are talking about A-doubles on these very narrow roads that are crumbling and that have potholes. The smallest little thing can become a really big hazard for a cyclist or a motorbike rider in fact. Something as small as a puddle can put you in hospital for a week with broken ribs and severe concussion, another thing I have learned through lived experience.

When we talk about regional roads – and of course the report does talk about the vulnerability of regional road users in terms of how vulnerable we are with road use – there are many recommendations within the report on how this can all be addressed. Action on the Victorian cycling strategy would be one. The findings and the recommendations in there are actually a fascinating read. The member for Laverton is quite right when she says some of these reports are quite dry, but this is actually a very good and interesting read, particularly from the point of view of a cyclist and of a motorcyclist, because it is really dangerous for us out there, not to mention the condition of the roads. We know that over 90 ‍per cent of roads in Victoria are in poor or very poor condition. I give awards around my electorate as to which one is worst and which one you would be more likely to become airborne on – the list goes on and on. (Time expired)