The FBEU has had a campaign for 40km/h speed zones around working emergency service vehicles for sometime. The FBEU and NSW firefighters are now supporting this community campaign.
Please follow the links to this petition.
http://www.communityrun.org/petitions/safer-australian-roads-and-highways?t=d...
On 15th February 2012, Sarah Frazer's car overheated. The vehicle's engine stopped and she had to pull over on a stretch of the Hume Highway that was not wide enough to fit her car. Despite parking hard against the safety guardrail, Sarah's car remained stranded out in a 110km/hr lane, leaving Ms Frazer, and subsequently the tow truck driver who came to her aid Mr Geoff Clark, directly in harm's way. While in the process of securing Ms Frazer's car for towing, a passing truck hit the pair killing them instantly.
Our major roads and highways need to have safe havens for stranded motorists. Drivers and their passengers should not be at risk of death simply because their car overheats. And when someone is in trouble we should give those drivers additional levels of security, and ensure that first call and emergency services personnel have the ability to do their jobs with some degree of safety.
While drivers are compelled to slow to 40km/hr when passing a council worker mowing the grass, it is still perfectly legal to do 110km/hr while passing an ambulance officer assisting at a car crash. This has to change. Therefore along with ensuring adequate breakdown lanes, we need a law in place to protect first call and emergency services personnel and those that they assist on our roads, by making sure that passing drivers "slow down and move over".
Why is this important?
With the Easter long weekend holidays coming up our roads will be getting far more scrutiny than usual. By adding your name to this campaign you can help to create the momentum we need to help get the NSW Parliament to commit to introducing Breakdown lane and Slow Down Move Over 'Highlander' legislation.
We are therefore asking the NSW Parliament to:
1. Enact legislation requiring that all major Roads, Highways and Freeways have breakdown lanes/road shoulders that meet the AustRoads standard of at least 2.5 metres. In this way, the life and death risks faced by drivers, their passengers, first call service personnel (ie. NRMA, Allianz Global Assist, Tow Truck Drivers etc) and emergency service personnel (ie. Police, Ambulance, Fire, RFS, SES etc) will be mitigated.
2. Enact "Slow Down Move Over" legislation (The “Highlander law”) requiring drivers who see flashing hazard lights on a roadside vehicle to i) slow down to half the posted speed limit and ii) move into an adjacent lane away from the vehicle/s displaying the flashing hazard lights. This will minimise the risk of injury and death for drivers, passengers, and the first call service and emergency service personnel who are providing assistance and protection to those driver and the passengers.
Please spread the word about this campaign and help ensure that no other lives are lost needlessly on our roads this Easter long weekend.
For more information please see:
*Safer Australian Roads And Highways (SARAH) Group - www.sarahgroup.org
*Highlander Slow Down Move Over law - www.highlandermoveoverlaw.com.au
How it will be delivered
So far over 8,000 people from around NSW have already signed hardcopy petitions. Once the hardcopy petition reaches 10,000 signatures we will present it to NSW Parliament where it will be debated by the House.
But this campaign does not stop when the petition reaches Parliament!
To make sure that these issues are not only debated, but legislated on, this online petition is needed to show the NSW Government the incredible and increasing level of support that these laws will have.
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