The Mitchell Highway is one of the most dangerous stretches of road to travel on but not because of state of the road, according to one man who has attended 120 accidents on the treacherous stretch.
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Lucknow Rural Fire Service captain Mick Bloomfield said 90 per cent of call outs for his brigade were to assist at motor vehicle accidents, and the majority of those were on the highway.
Since taking over as captain of the brigade in 2002, Mr Bloomfield has kept detailed records of the accidents the Lucknow crew has had to attend.
There have been 120 incidents, including 11 fatalities, and countless serious injuries.
Lucknow’s territory includes a 25-kilometre stretch of the highway between Orange and Macquarie Woods.
Mr Bloomfield said the road was in excellent condition and there were no challenging sections.
Despite that, they attend an accident every few weeks, and the captain believes he could barely walk any 400 metre stretch of the road without being able to point out the location of a handful of accidents.
“Seven of the 11 fatalities have been accidents on the widest stretches of the road with an overtaking lane on an absolutely straight stretch. Only one of those fatalities has been on a bend,” Mr Bloomfield said.
“In my opinion, the majority of accidents are driver error. It might be fatigue or using a mobile phone or some other distraction but the road isn’t to blame.”
Having to attend so many terrible accidents has taken a toll on RFS members, and some leave the squad because of what they have seen.
“There are just some things you shouldn’t have to see.”
- Mick Bloomfield
“I’ve seen some truly terrible things,” Mr Bloomfield said.
“The last one I attended, I don’t think I have ever seen a car more damaged than that. The front of the car was in the back seat.
“Accidents with kids are the worst. I went to one where a family was involved. The father was killed on impact and the mother and three of the children had to be flown to Sydney.
“They worked on one of those children for an hour and a half.”
Mr Bloomfield’s wife Barb joined the brigade in 2002 and her first call out was to a double fatal crash. It’s not unusual.
“We have one member who has been in the brigade for two years but he hasn’t attended a single fire. He’s been to a lot of accidents.
It’s passersby that Mr Bloomfield said he worries about most of all.
“It’s hard enough on people who have seen it before but when someone comes across an accident, I really worry about them,” he said.
“It’s something you have to look out for. There have been times when someone has given their statement to police and then they’ve been driven home because they are in no state to drive.
“We need to look after them. Emergency service workers have counselling but they don’t have the same access.”
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And even those who have attended hundreds of accidents who can still be affected, Mr Bloomfield said.
“There are just some things you shouldn’t have to see.”
Mr Bloomfield said he hopes a way can be found to stop the accidents but feels most of it will come back to individual drivers.
“I wish I had an answer. I’d love to see more highway patrol cars on the road because that gets people to slow down but I don’t know what else you can do,” he said.
“People need to be responsible for their actions.”