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Pallas pushes extension of truck exclusion lanes

Former Victorian roads minister wants the government to extend truck exclusion lanes on Melbourne's road network

Ruza Zivkusic-Aftasi | March 30, 2012

The former Victorian roads minister, Tim Pallas, wants the state’s government to extend truck exclusion lanes on Melbourne’s road network.

Pallas, who when in government mandated car-only lanes on sections of the Princes and Eastern freeways, wants the government to go further as part of efforts to improve safety.

“Connect East, the concession holder for EastLink, is on the public record supporting the extension of car-only lanes to EastLink,” Pallas says.

“With the completion of works on the M1, there is no reason why truck exclusion lanes cannot be extended to that road.

“With Victoria’s road toll now standing at 12 percent above last year’s in a year-to-date context, now is the time for the government to continue the promised car-only lane safety initiatives,” Pallas adds.

He says an analysis of the Victorian road fatalities map, which is available on the Victoria Police website, reveals there have been no fatalities on the two sections of highway currently set aside as truck exclusion lanes since they were declared.

“Also, Transport Accident Commission statistics indicate that 78 percent of truck casualty incidents in Victoria since 1987 have involved a collision with another vehicle – that is, trucks involved in the collision, and 37 percent were in speed zones greater than 90km/h.”

“The Minister for Roads [Terry Mulder] must explain to the Victorian public why the government to date has refused to continue Australia’s first truck exclusion rollout, started by Labor and clearly yielding a safety dividend, and certainly demonstrating its worth in European countries.”

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