There were three accidents in less than a week on Captains Flat Road with at least three people taken to hospital as a result.
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According to residents of the village, driver behaviour is to blame.
The first accident on Sunday, November 20 was a single vehicle which hit a tree. The second, two days later, was a two vehicle head-on crash where two people were taken to hospital. The third accident, on Friday November 25, saw three cars involved when one rear-ended the back of the roadworks queue.
Captains Flat Road is a known hotspot for accidents, with the NSW Centre for Road Safety recording eight in 2015 where seven people were taken to hospital as a result.
Captains Flat resident Peter Marshall said he wasn’t aware of the circumstances surrounding the most recent crashes, however he’d had experiences of “crazy” behaviour on that road.
He’s often seen drivers become impatient with the car in front and overtake in dangerous situations. Another concern was drivers straddling the while line on blind corners, and people driving too fast for the conditions.
He said a contributing factor to the number of recent accidents could be driver impatience, from waiting at the roadworks.
“One day, I got stuck at the roadworks for 15 minutes and that is substantial in anyone’s books. There’s a fair bit of annoyance that it’s taking so long,” Mr Marshall said.
Another resident who did not wish to be named said she refused to drive along the road at night unless absolutely necessary because she was often intimidated by tailgating four-wheel drives.
She said the last time that happened, the driver was beeping and high beaming her, but there was nowhere to safely pull over.
“It’s extreme bullying,” she said.
“There is a real problem… The driving here is completely out of control.”
According to NSW Fire and Rescue Queanbeyan station commander Cory Wilkinson, there have been quite a few accidents on the road over the years.
“Captains Flat Road is one of our regulars if you like, hence the upgrades and improvements,” Mr Wilkinson said.
Excessive speed and poor weather were often crash contributors, he said, with the speed limits based on ideal conditions.
“In good weather [the speed limits] are probably quite reasonable. The problem out there is you can get some funny, off-camber corners and a lot of animals.
“It’s a known area for accidents, there's no doubt about it.”
A Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council spokesman said the 1.5km stretch of roadworks to rehabilitate and widen the road were hampered by wet weather, but the final seal should be complete by December.
“Council has secured further funding via the regional road repair program to continue the widening of Captains Flat Road. This work is expected to take place in the next two to three years,” the spokesman said.
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