LOCAL paramedics are pleading with motorists to take care to prevent a tragedy on the roads as children head back to school.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
A string of accidents in the Tamworth and New England areas has prompted the plea, on the back of a disastrous festive season and holiday-period which has seen four lives lost on local roads.
Last year’s NSW road toll was one of the worst on record with country roads and rural area accounting for dozens of deaths, or call outs to horrific crashes.
“Over the Christmas/New Year period I think it was 100 per cent up in rural NSW,” Tamworth-based Ambulance NSW Inspector Sean O’Connor told The Leader.
“Given the accidents that we have had, we would urge caution around accident scenes and particularly in school zones.”
Inspector O’Connor said motorists needed to be mindful that children might not be paying attention in and around roads.
“Use the designated stopping zones and drop-off and pick-up from the same side of the road,” he said.
SEE ALSO:
- Woman hospitalised after car crashes down embankment into gully
- Carnage on the roads sparks desperate plea from paramedics
- Two men hospitalised after serious smash on highway
- Manilla crash driver dies in hospital, another recovering
- Single vehicle accident near Walcha leaves one dead
- Car slams into light pole, road closed to traffic
“If you see an ambulance, we would urge motorists to keep left, slow down and stop when it is safest to do so and urge around accident scenes,” Inspector O’Connor said.
“If you are on the scene of an accident with a patient, keep them calm, but also keep themselves safe at accident scenes.”
Breanna Chillingworth
Northern Daily Leader Senior Crime and Court Reporter
Northern Daily Leader Senior Crime and Court Reporter
