The family of a man killed on the Calder Highway last year have urged the state government to halt the roll out of the new wire rope barriers across Victoria until their safety for motorcyclists is adequately tested.
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Phil ‘Whitey’ White, a member of the God’s Squad Motorcycle Club’s central Victorian chapter, died after coming off his vehicle following a collision with a kangaroo near Taradale in November.
His family believe the presence of wire ropes on the stretch of road hindered his chance of survival.
“I just think that should there have been room for Phil to try and correct himself, some run off area, then he may have been able to survive,” his widow Jan White said on Thursday.
Read more: Wire ropes, bad roads protest planned
"We're here to ask for a halt to the roll out of the wire rope barriers until such time as the safety of them is tested for motorcycles and some other vehicles as well.
“It took us a long time to be able to think about what really happened and we still struggle.”
Deputy State Coroner Iain Treloar in February found Mr White’s cause of death was multiple injuries sustained in a motorcycle incident, but could not determine whether the injuries were from the collision or Mr White’s subsequent landing on the wire rope barriers.
No recommendations were made by Coroner Treloar.
“I have no doubt there have been some instances when they (wire rope barriers) have saved lives, but I'm absolutely sure there's a lot of times when they haven't, they've either injured people badly or killed (sic) and it’s really upsetting,” Ms White said.
Together with her children, Ms White announced the family’s intention to be part of a bad roads rally in Bendigo in November.
It’s the second major rally planned after a group of motorcyclists from across Victoria converged on Parliament House in May to protest against the divisive safety measures.
The group argued the state government should spend money to fix existing sub-standard roads, rather than wire ropes, which are expected to cost $450 million to install on high-risk Victorian thoroughfares.
VicRoads conducted a review into the wire ropes on a section of the Calder Highway near Castlemaine after some Country Fire Authority members said there were insufficient breaks in the barriers, which had allowed fires to develop unnecessarily.
It agreed to make changes in July, which include an extra gap in the ropes – halfway between Pollards Road and Harmony Way in Faraday.
The bad roads rally will be held in Rosalind Park on November 18 at 12.00pm.
Roads minister Luke Donnellan said: “Any life lost on our roads is tragic and my thoughts are with the family and friends of the person involved in this crash.”
Centreline flexible safety barriers prevent vehicles crossing the median and colliding with oncoming traffic, or roadside hazards like trees and poles, according to the government.
In some areas, the barrier is designed to be placed close to the road to prevent vehicles from rolling or flipping before reaching the barrier, reducing risk to passengers and other road users nearby.
The government suggested international research found a 40-50 per cent reduction in risk of motorcyclist fatalities where centreline barriers were installed in Sweden.
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