A dangerous mix of vulnerable road users and heavy vehicles is creating a perfect storm on Maribyrnong roads, according to the area’s top road cop.
A motorcyclist died after crashing into a parked container truck in Yarraville on Tuesday morning. It was the fourth fatality on Maribyrnong roads in less than a fortnight and the sixth since March.
Footscray Acting Inspector Jason Templar, the Westgate highway patrol unit commander, said it was a major concern to see so many fatalities involving pedestrians, motorcycles and trucks in such a short time span.
“We can’t police every road at every minute, but there is a pattern there and we are looking at a real focus on … looking at how we stop these accidents occurring,” he said.
Acting Inspector Jason Templar said Maribyrnong was unique in Melbourne for its particular mix of heavy trucks, foot traffic and increasing number of cyclists.
He said rapid population growth in and around Footscray was only going to make the mix more volatile.
“The common contributing factor in these cases appears to be inattention or distraction. Whether people are on foot or a motorbike or driving a truck, there needs to be the same level of alertness.”
Police believe the motorcyclist killed in Tuesday’s incident struck a parked truck while travelling north on Williamstown Road near Somerville Road soon after 6am.
The Williamstown Road death follows the death of a man who walked in front of a motorcycle on Moore Street in Footscray early on Monday morning.
A woman died after stepping in front of a truck on Somerville Road in West Footscray on August 22 and a motorcyclist died when he crashed into a pole on Ballarat Road in Footscray on August 18.
A woman was hit by a truck while crossing Geelong Road in Footscray on June 30 and a female cyclist died after colliding with a truck in Yarraville in March.
