ARARAT Police and Northern Grampians Highway Patrol officers have urged motorists to obey new laws around passing emergency vehicles.
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The aim of the campaign is not to hand out fines but to get motorists to slow down near emergency vehicles on the side of the road for the safety of police officers, emergency services personnel and others at the scene.
Ararat police Constable Gillian Morgan said Road Rule 79A had come in to effect on July 1 but many drivers did not know it existed.
“The road rule requires motorists to keep clear or give way to police, emergency, enforcement or escort vehicles, such as Sheriff or VicRoads,” she said.
“VicRoads has limited the rule to vehicles with red, blue or magenta flashing lights.
“Vehicles must slow to 40 kilometers per hour on passing.”
The new rule was the subject of some confusion when it first came into force last year.
The 40km/h restriction was blamed for a rear-end collision between a truck and a car on the Western Highway near Bacchus Marsh.
Constable Morgan said the road rule was designed to improve road safety, as a pedestrian hit by a car at 30 km/h was almost five times more likely to survive than if the car was travelling 65 km/h.
“The roadside is our workplace and it is a quite risky, dangerous, unpredictable and ever-changing environment, not only for police members but also for the members of the public we are dealing with,” she said.
“Road users need to be aware of how dangerous this type of work is and what the public can do to assist in helping to keep our emergency workers keep safe.”
Constable Morgan said it was common for Grampians Region drivers to pass emergency vehicles beside the road at high speeds.
“Ararat and Stawell police members are experiencing daily, motorists who either have no idea the rule exists or are disregarding it,” she said.
Constable Morgan said standing alongside a stationary vehicle on the Western Highway with traffic passing by at 100km/h could be quite daunting.
“If motorists take notice of the road rule, emergency services’ work environment will be much safer.
“If it is you that police are talking to at a roadside intercept ,you are also safer under the new rule,” she said.
The rule applies to all lanes of traffic on all roads, including freeways, unless the road is divided by a median and your vehicle is on the other side
However, all lanes of traffic on the side of the road where the vehicle is located must slow down.
Drivers can be fined $277 with no demerit points for for not slowing down to 40km/h when passing emergency vehicles.