SAFETY-campaigning school bus driver Allan Boss seems to be getting nowhere in his appeals to Carrum MP Jenny Lindell for fixed speed cameras at the approaches to Kananook Primary School in Wells Road and other schools on busy roads ('Speed signs at school ignored', 24/8/10).
Allan and the school community say motorists are mostly ignoring the flashing light 40km/h signs that were installed beside Wells Road last year (after a three-year campaign by Allan and the school).
This has been supported by a Frankston Council traffic survey, which showed that in May more than 57per cent of vehicles were exceeding the limit in place from 8-9.30am and 2.30-4pm on school days.
And, get this: 95per cent of those mugs who were exceeding the limit were travelling at more than 55km/h.
After Allan wrote to Ms Lindell and Frankston MP Alistair Harkness, who flick-passed it to Ms Lindell because the school's in her electorate, Ms Lindell told Allan that the Frankston highway patrol (as the traffic management unit is now called – another example of the Americanisation of our country) was blitzing the strip as part of an ongoing operation.
And it's raking in revenue. The highway patrol officers get writing cramp scribbling out tickets every time they go to Kananook primary. Ms Lindell also said she had raised the matter with Police Minister Bob 'Car Crash' Cameron.
Last week, Allan received a follow-up letter from Ms Lindell, enclosing a copy of Mr Cameron's response to Ms Lindell. The 13-paragraph missive from the minister was headed 'Speeding vehicles around the Kananook area'. That was the only mention of the school speed zone issue.
It was a patronising, propagandist, self-promoting template about how the state government and the police are tackling road trauma, hoon driving, speeding, and drink-driving and drug-driving.
I would say this same letter is sent out in response to any complaint about speeding and/or hoon driving in Victoria.
In his letter to the MP, Mr Cameron concludes by saying that because the raised matters are operational in nature, he has referred the correspondence to Deputy Commissioner Ken Lay.
Perhaps Ken Lay will respond appropriately to Allan Boss and the school.
"The letter from Cameron was pretty much an updated version of one I got from him three years ago," Allan said.
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