By Ethan Benedicto
The family whose home has been left in ruins after a harrowing crash has called for increased safety in Hallam Road.
Situated on the corner of Ivan Crescent in Hampton Park, Ravinder and Neha, parents to two young children thought that installing metallic fencing and laying the foundations with bricks would provide ample protection.
While they were aware of the dangers of corner-home living, they never expected an upturned vehicle to be a mere foot away from their feet at 4.30 in the morning.
Despite the speed limit being 60 kilometres per hour, and 40 kilometres per hour on school hours, the family said that “many people don’t go 60 kilometres”.
“I know the road is nice, but still I feel that the limit, it’s not adequate, it’s too fast, it should be slower because there’s a school right there,” both parents said.
The family had moved from Springvale a few years prior, thinking they had experienced the worst that the suburb’s traffic, congestion and crashes had to offer.
They are thankful that no one was seriously injured during the accident, but both Ravinder and Neha both live under the guile of fear and with the noise of the crash still fresh, have found it difficult to think about sleeping, much less spending time in their beloved home.
The driver of the vehicle was a 25-year-old Narre Warren man, and the passenger was a 26-year-old man from Dandenong North.
“We don’t know what happened with those men (in the vehicle), but we want justice,” Ravinder said.
“I mean, we were living here, but there is no comfort anymore, the insurance does its job, but whose fault was it?
“It’s the mental damage, our mental health, my daughter’s my son’s, the family.”
There is fear for their children, especially their daughter, who has recently been enrolled at the neighbouring St Kevin’s Primary School.
Neha, the mother, said the 40 kilometres per hour limit should be constant, at least until Hampton Park Shopping Centre.
“It should be 40 kilometres here all the time, not just school, but always,” she said.
Narre Warren South MP, Gary Maas is thankful that there were no serious injuries or deaths in light of the incident.
Maas added that when incidents like these occur, reviews are being conducted by VicRoads, with the body consulting road users, local schools, residents and other relevant stakeholders.
“The safety of our community is paramount, no one wants traffic flow to be reduced along our road networks due to a few selfish idiots who do not follow the speed limit,” Maas said.
Maas said laws and road rules were there to be abided by, “but our outstanding police can only do so much when road rules are flagrantly disregarded by drivers who excessively speed”.
River Gum Ward councillor, Lynette Pereira is adamant that more action should be taken when it comes to deterrence of dangerous driving, but also on working together with authorities to make a lasting change.
While the road itself isn’t a hot spot for severe accidents or crashes, she collates that it is indeed a stretch where drivers, despite the speed cameras, like to test not only their vehicles’ limits, but the regulated limit as well.
“So when you think of a small car that loses control, can you imagine a bigger truck losing control?” Lynette said.
“We’ve got a lot of problems with unsafe drivers at the moment, and you’ll see it online on Casey Crime Page, where it is evident that crime is growing in Casey.
“This is a worry for us and we need to stick our heads together and work with the police, who also need support.”
While she understands that the residents are calling for more safety measures, she echoed a similar notion to Maas, where a certain balance must be met when implementing these considering the arterial nature of Hallam Road.
Casey’s Mayor, Stefan Koomen, added that he and the council are aware of the community’s concerns regarding speeding along Hallam Road and that they are “committed to improving road safety and will continue to advocate to the State Government for safety improvements”.
“With kids now back in school, it’s everyone’s responsibility to ensure they get to and from school safely,” Koomen said.
“Council urges all drivers to take care, be alert and abide by the rules when behind the wheel.”
Star News understands that the speed of 60 kilometres on the road is considered an acceptable limit under the state and the Department of Transport and Planning, and that traffic calming devices such as speed humps would not be suitable for carrying such high volumes of traffic.
Ravinder, building on the stress the accident has caused, is also frustrated.
“This has been very frustrating for us, you know, we’ve been trying to make the home nicer and nicer, but then all of a sudden someone comes along and does this,” he said.
“Now we are the people that have to do something about it, so it’s justice, that’s what we want.
“We don’t feel safe when we’re here, this is our house and we’re missing our home.”
Neha lamented that the family frequented the front yard in their free time, with activities from using the trampoline, the kids on bikes and other small activities, it was, as the parents coined, their little playground.
In the meantime, the family is currently living away from home, and while waiting for the repairs to finish, they make frequent trips to and from the home to gather their belongings.
They are hoping that something can be done to both quell the numbers of dangerous driving, and increase the safety of those living near main roads.
