A new safety treatment known as the Rural Intersection Activated Warning System (RIAWS) will soon be installed at the intersection of Windermere and Hummock Roads to reduce the risk of severe accidents.
The RIAWS will detect when a vehicle on Hummock Road is approaching or standing at the intersection and activate warning signs for drivers on Windermere Road.
The installation of the warning system signage will be the first use of this technology in Queensland.
The signs will remain inactive under normal conditions but will activate a 60 km/h speed limit when vehicles are detected approaching the intersection or stopped at the Hummock Road stop lines.
Roads and Infrastructure (urban) portfolio spokesperson Cr Larine Statham-Blair said since 2015, the intersection has had eight serious crashes, including one fatality.
Cr Statham-Blair said the primary goal of the RIAWS was to alert drivers on Windermere Road to the risk of potential crashes with vehicles travelling through the intersection from Hummock Road.
“Over the past five years the frequency of accidents at this intersection has increased and now action is required,” Cr Statham-Blair said.
“Adjusting vehicle speeds in high-risk areas like this will significantly reduce the likelihood of severe crashes.”
Cr Statham-Blair said work to install the Rural Intersection Activated Warning Signs will be minimal but the benefit of reducing the risk of crashes in the community will be considerable.
Existing Vehicle Activated Signs, which were installed on Hummock Road in 2020, will be upgraded as part of the project.
This $175,000 project is fully funded under the Australian Government’s Black Spot Program, which provides funding for low-cost, high-benefit improvements on the road network to address actual or potential crashes that lead to high severity outcomes (fatalities and hospitalisations).
This is a very good move Larine as for motorists like myself who drive a manual it takes extra time to come up through the gears and get up to 80 k/h on Windermere. Also cross traffic on to hummock RD have to be given way also. This is a very dangerous intersection for turning traffic, and Bargara road traffic intersection needs to be widened also or have the same device installed… Thank you for doing this safety measure.