After a fatal accident on Three Chain Road, Newham residents are calling for urgent action to slow traffic down.
About 7.20pm on 3 February, a car and truck collided at the intersection of Egans Lane and Three Chain Road.
Police said the passenger of the truck, a 67-year-old Kyneton man, died at the scene, and the driver of the truck, a 43-year-old Malmsbury man, was airlifted to hospital with serious injuries.
A 28-year-old Malmsbury man has since been charged with culpable driving causing death, dangerous driving causing death and fail to give way, according to police.
Residents living in and around the intersection imposes an ongoing risk, with Newham resident Kerri Ritchie saying she won’t let her two kids take the bus to school anymore.
“One of the main issues is, the intersection is at the bottom of a hill. Three Chain Road is a 100km/h road, and … it’s an absolute truck route,” she said.
“The road can’t handle it. It’s such a poor road and a wildlife area.
“We just want (Macedon Ranges council) to reduce the intersection to 80km/h.”
Ms Ritchie said residents in the area have heard or witnessed multiple crashes at the site.
“The residents that live on that intersection are like first responders now,” she said.
“One family has gone out to five accidents. The father has pulled a pregnant woman out of a wreckage.
“You’ve got families eating dinner at night, hearing the accidents and having to run out onto the road … it’s a huge and awful responsibility.”
Kids living in the Newham area have to wait roadside for the school buses to take them to schools in Woodend and Kyneton, adding to the high-risk intersection.
Fog is also an issue in the morning, lessening visibility.
Another parent, Anita La Forgia, said she has been advocating to Macedon Ranges council to take action for the past three years, while other residents have been advocating for almost 10 to reduce the speed.
“That intersection is really dangerous at 100km/h, its unsafe to drive. It’s unsafe to turn in and out of the intersection,” she said.
“People don’t know which way to give way to because it’s not quite a cross-intersection. You also cannot see when you’re turning left or right at dawn and dusk.
“(There’s) daily occurrences (on this) unsafe road, where there’s multiple school buses, multiple drivers who don’t care with the intersection, in addition to B-doubles flying up and down.”
Both Ms La Forgia and Ms Ritchie, along with other local parents, are calling on council to reduce the speed to 80km/h and implement other harm reduction measures along Three Chain Road.
Council has been contacted for comment.
