Battle against

By Callan Date
MAJOR changes to the Casey Traffic Management Unit (TMU) have been earmarked to tackle the high number of serious collisions occurring in the city.
More than 40 people have died on Casey’s roads in the last three years, with four fatalities already occurring in the first three months of 2008.
A collision in Doveton on Monday night nearly added to the fatal tally.
Four people were taken to hospital after the late-night crash occurred on the Monash Freeway.
Police said a car heading inbound crossed the medium strip, smashed through a wire barrier and collided with two south-bound vehicles at about 10.30pm.
The driver of the inbound car, a 22-year-old Noble Park man, suffered chest injuries and was transported to The Alfred hospital in a serious but stable condition.
His car was cut in two by the force of the crash.
Three other people were also admitted to hospital with various injuries.
The Monash Freeway incident comes only weeks after a double-fatality occurred in Lynbrook.
Casey Acting Police Inspector Bruce Kitchen said the high amount of collisions in Casey was a major issue for police.
“We are under no illusions that there have been some very serious crashes in the area of late,” he said.
That fact hit home hard for Act Insp Kitchen recently.
The experienced policeman knew the family involved in the fatal crash that killed two children in Lynbrook late last month.
Two surviving children are slowly recovering from their injuries and were released from hospital yesterday (Wednesday), he said.
“People have to realise that driving a car requires responsible actions. If they act in an irresponsible way it can cause fatal repercussions.”
Act Insp Kitchen said more police officers would soon be joining the TMU in a bid to stop the carnage on local roads.
“We are due to get more police numbers in region five and we plan to put some of these police officers in the Casey TMU.”
He said more officers would also be brought in on a temporary basis in the lead up to the Christmas period.
“Members can sell back their annual leave and we are planning to bring in some more numbers on the roads this way.”
The TMU will also be relocated from Narre Warren to Cranbourne Police Station to cater for the unit’s expansion, Act Insp Kitchen said.
“We have had a massive increase in cars on the roads and volume of traffic coming through the City of Casey in recent times.
“We have had to look at readjusting our staffing as more and more cars are on the local roads.”