CORANGAMITE federal member Sarah Henderson has repeated her assertion that unskilled international drivers on the Geelong region\u2019s roads \u201ccan be a moving time bomb\u201d, but has rejected a suggestion she is xenophobic.<\/p>\n
The MP\u2019s comments came in the wake of the third crash in five days at the intersection of Birregurra-Forest Road and Colac-Lorne Road\/Deepdene Road.<\/p>\n
Ms Henderson said there had been many other accidents involving international drivers on inland tourist routes to the Great Ocean Road.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese involve not just tourists but visitors on other temporary visas such as student or work visas who are entitled to drive on Australian roads without any testing or verification of driver skills.\u201d<\/p>\n
She conceded that \u201cinternational drivers did not account for a large percentage of road accidents\u201d \u2013 21 per cent of crashes along the Great Ocean Road between July 2012 and June 2017, according to VicRoads \u2013 but that \u201cevery single life on our road matters\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am disappointed that the Colac Herald has labelled my efforts to advocate for improved driver safety as xenophobic. This claim is nonsense.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have been a very prominent champion of tourism and the Great Ocean Road for many years. But we must do everything possible to ensure that every single person is safe on our roads.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhether it be driving on the wrong side of the road, driving through stop signs, dangerous parking, stopping in the middle of the road to take photographs, driving too slowly, not using turnout lanes or crossing double lines, too many international drivers on the Great Ocean Road and in other parts of the country are putting themselves and others at risk.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen international drivers don\u2019t have the skills or knowledge of road laws to drive on Australian roads, they can be a moving time bomb.\u201d<\/p>\n
Last week, the state government announced it was rolling out the Visiting Driver Road Safety Program, but Ms Henderson said this did not go far enough.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn my view, the conditions on which foreigners on temporary visas can drive on Victorian roads are too lax and should be reviewed.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
CORANGAMITE federal member Sarah Henderson has repeated her assertion that unskilled international drivers on the Geelong region\u2019s roads \u201ccan be a moving time bomb\u201d, but has rejected a suggestion she is xenophobic. The MP\u2019s comments came in the wake of the third crash in five days at the intersection of Birregurra-Forest Road and Colac-Lorne Road\/Deepdene […]<\/p>\n