Big tech urged to update nav apps to refer to road workers rather than just roadworks

Australia Broadcast Center

24-04-2025

A West Australian local government has issued a plea for drivers to slow down when going through roadworks out of concern for the safety of their workers.
The Shire of West Arthur, south of Perth, covers an area of about 2,850 square kilometres.
Shire president Neil Morrell said they were seeing more frequent incidents of people ignoring reduced speed limits.
West Arthur shire president Neil Morrell says he's heard from other local governments having similar issues.
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ABC News: Amelia Searson
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"We've had one of our graders hit by a light truck recently due to the fact that [the driver] didn't slow down," he said.
"
We really just want our workers to be able to go to work without danger and then go home to their families.
"
Mr Morrell said the incidents were not isolated to his area.
"At an inter-shire meeting the other week, we brought this topic up and other [shire] CEOs and presidents said they've all got the same issue," he said.
"
We've got roadworks signs and everything like that, but people are just ignoring those.
"
Nearly half of those who participated in the recent national traffic controller safety survey reported weekly near misses.
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ABC Great Southern: Andrew Chounding
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'Deserve to be safe'
The 2024 National Traffic Controller Safety Survey collected responses from more than 1,500 traffic controllers across Australia.
The survey found more than half had encountered vehicles that failed to stop at traffic control sites at least once a week, and 44 per cent reported near misses with speeding vehicles in the previous 12 months.
In January, a traffic controller was killed on the Western Highway in Victoria.
It is believed he was packing up road signage when he was struck by a passing truck.
Police Minister Reece Whitby says workers have the right to feel safe while doing their job.
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ABC News: Rosemary Murphy
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WA Police Minister Reece Whitby said motorists needed to obey all posted speed limits.
"Our road workers are exposed," he said.
"If you've got someone who ignores those speed reductions and goes past at 100kph when they are on the edge of a road, it can be quite frightening for them and it's plainly dangerous.
"Obey the law because it's not just you you're putting at risk on a road that might be under construction or having works on it … it's also the lives of those workers who are just doing their job that deserve to be safe."
Mandatory not advisory
Traffic Management Association of Australia (TMAA) chief executive Matthew Bereni said speed limits for roadworks were mandatory, not advisory.
He said, as part of efforts to improve safety for workers, they had started a petition calling for the messaging alerts on navigation apps for roadworks to be altered from ''roadworks ahead' to include messaging about the workers.
The TMAA wants alerts on navigation systems for roadworks.
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ABC Great Southern: Andrew Chounding
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"We are asking for those big technology companies to refer to people, and in particular we want them to say 'slow down for road workers'," Mr Bereni said.
"The rationale for that is when we start talking about road workers we are talking about people, we are talking about individuals who have families and who have a right to go home safe at the end of the day.
"This is why we want those big companies to start referring to road workers as opposed to just roadworks."
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