Beaconsfield residents are raising urgent concerns about drivers regularly running red lights at major intersections, putting pedestrians at serious risk.
A widely shared concern among residents is that “stopping at any red light seems optional these days”.
“I still remember the day I was waiting to turn out from the carpark and the light was red. A car went flying through the lights just as a man stepped out pushing a pram, someone was watching over that baby that day for the pram not to be hit,” one woman shared.
“It’s happening a lot on all roads. I saw 2 cars run red lights in the space of 3hrs the other day and witnessed the accident in Beacy a couple of weeks ago when a car ran the red light at Beacy-Emerald Rd and t-boned the car in front of us,” another resident shared.
Many women and young people say they’ve had to return to old habits, like pausing at green lights, as red-light running becomes increasingly common.
“It happens so much at those lights. I cross there frequently and wait for the lights to go red and then check to make sure cars are stopping,” Kaitlin Willoughby said.
“I actually wait now before going through an intersection. And check whether they’ve stopped. So many running red lights,” another woman shared.
“I’ve always done that. It was what I was taught 40 odd years ago just to wait a second or so to make sure. A good habit to get into.”
A major concern for Lisa Sanders is the intersection near her Beaconsfield home (Princes Highway and Brunt Road in Officer) which has a history of serious accidents, including a fatality and a major crash involving her and her husband.
The most recent incident involved her 20-year-old daughter with autism, who was struck in an alleged hit-run while crossing the intersection on 12 March.
Keely had begun crossing with the green pedestrian signal, but as it turned to flashing red, a driver allegedly not noticing the lights struck her as she continued walking.
“I get panic attacks, I don’t like being alone, I don’t want to go outside or near the road,” Keely said.
Her mother is deeply concerned the trauma will have lasting effects.
“I thought I would miss this place, but after what happened to my daughter, I just want to leave,” Lisa said.
“Now, she doesn’t want to go on public transport anymore, and she doesn’t want to cross roads. She only just got her learner’s permit, but now she doesn’t want to drive.
“I know it’s still the early stages, but I can already see how deeply this will impact her. We have been avoiding the intersection since then because it’s traumatic.”
Some residents believe poor road design is contributing to the problem. David, a long-time Beaconsfield local, says the pedestrian crossing near the Woolworths/Aldi carpark on the Old Princes Highway is dangerously placed mid-turn, where drivers are already navigating a complex intersection.
“That pedestrian crossing is a trap in so many ways,” he said.
“I can’t think of another that crosses half way along a right hand turn lane where drivers are scanning oncoming and entering traffic to judge if it is safe to proceed across the intersection. Whilst focussed on that task there is a risk that they’ll miss the change in light.”
While being a good driver is important, David believes that “an engineering solution to minimise the chance of an accident is best”.
“Someone needs to lobby the government to put lights at the road/carpark entrance and move the crossing to the new set of lights,” he urged.
“Put a more standard set of intersection traffic lights with pedestrian crossings and the risk of even good drivers making a mistake is minimised. Plus you make it safer in general for cars and pedestrians.”
Lisa added VicRoads should take action by revisiting and strengthening the licensing requirements to prevent further accidents.
Victoria Police spokesperson said “road safety cameras play an important role in reducing road trauma on Victoria’s roads”.
“They have been shown to reduce injury collisions by up to 47 per cent at Victorian intersections,” spokesperson said.
“Driving against a red light significantly increases the likelihood of a collision and puts all road users at risk.
“The Department of Justice and Community Safety manages Victoria’s road safety camera network.
“Victoria Police, as the enforcement agency, manages the issuing of penalty infringement notices.”
Fines Victoria, Department of Transport and Planning, and Department of Justice and Community Safety was approached for a comment.
