By ANEEKA SIMONIS
A SHAKEN mum is demanding speed bumps be installed on a Lakeside road after a speeding hoon almost hit her and her five year-old son last week.
Suzie Barata, who lives off Clearwater Drive in Lakeside, said she and her son Zavier were walking across the road to a nearby park when a “distracted” driver estimated to be travelling twice the speed limit nearly hit them on Saturday 17 January.
“My son and I were walking across the road and I saw the driver wasn’t slowing down. I pushed my son out of the way to get him off the road,” Suzie recalled.
“I was shaking and the (driver) just seemed to be in her own little bubble.”
The mum of two claimed the woman, who was driving a grey Ford sedan, was driving around 80km/h, double the 40km/h speed limit, which could have seriously injured her and her five-year-old son.
“I was scared,” Zavier said.
Clearwater Drive resident Maryse Williams has lived in the area for seven years and said the problem was only getting worse.
“It’s an accident waiting to happen. I hear mothers screaming all the time – you think it’s because their child is misbehaving but they’re trying to put one in a car seat while the other is out near the road when a car flies by,” she said.
She said she has often witnessed cars reaching more than double the speed limit.
“They fly. They do 80km/h or more easily. When I back out, I have to come to a complete stop because they come out of nowhere,” said the grandmother who was extra cautious over the Christmas period when her grandchildren came over.
Donna Langley, who is visiting family from her home in New Zealand, said she was shocked to see the speed at which some drivers travelled along the residential roads.
“They have to be aware of the children at the playground which is close to the road.”
Cardinia Shire Council Senior Traffic Engineer Nicholas Charrett said council had not received any speed complaints or traffic management device requests concerning Clearwater Drive in the past eight years.
“Council currently has no traffic data for Clearwater Drive, however a traffic survey is expected to be undertaken in February or March 2015. The results will be used to identify any traffic issues on this road and consider possible solutions,” he said.
Suzie has vowed to campaign Cardinia Shire Council for speed humps along Clearwater Drive after the recent incident.
Council has urged residents with traffic concerns to contact council on 1300 787 624.
