Wednesday September 1, 2010
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www.monaropost.com.au E INSID
F a t h e r ’s D a y P20 - 22
Volume 5 Edition 1 ISSN 1834-0318
Foodpost P23
Pages 16 - 19
MONARO
property muster
Good snow + police tests = traffic chaos
This picture of the traffic jam which grid locked Jindabyne, was taken at 7.30 am on Saturday morning.
Traffic banked up from the Four Mile through Sharp Street on Sunday afternoon. This photo by Tony Sergo. Traffic through the Snowy Mountains was extremely heavy over the weekend as skiers rushed to make the most of the best August skiing conditions for decades. However, the heavy traffic was also impacted on by police drug and alcohol testing in Jindabyne on Saturday morning and at the Four Mile, west of Cooma on Sunday afternoon. Skiers, locals and resort operators have all registered their annoyance at the traffic delays, but Southern Region Commander Assistant Commissioner Kyle Stewart said he made no apologies for running the random drug and breathtesting operations during peak times to make roads safer. “All random breath testing sites undergo a rigorous safety assessment before they are commissioned,” Assistant Commissioner Stewart said. “Would you rather be apologising to your friends and family for being a little late or having to tell them someone they care about has died or been injured in a crash where drugs or alcohol have played a part? “Alcohol is one of the leading causes of crashes that kill or injure people. If you are affected by drugs and/or alcohol you are less likely to be able to control a car. “This risk only multiplies when you factor in the at times unpredictable Alpine weather turning road conditions unfavourable. “Police at the RBT/RDT site this weekend were mindful of the impact of the operation on traffic and vehicle selection was tailored to minimise the impact. “During the weekend operation one person was charged
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with mid range PCA, while two people were detected with low range blood alcohol readings. They will all be appearing in Cooma Local Court next month. “Police also conducted 180 random drug tests with three positive detections made. “Four vehicles were issued with defect notices during the operation. Assistant Commissioner Stewart said operations such as last weekend’s were only one of the strategies that are being used in an effort to stem the drug crime within the snowfields. In Jindabyne, the testing on Saturday morning caused lengthy delays when thousands of family skiers were delayed up to one and a half hours in a continuous traffic jam which began at the testing point just past the Barry Way on Kosciuszko Road and led back to Jindabyne Dam wall. One visitor said there was not one impounded vehicle to be seen at the testing point as he and his lively family passed it at 10.30am on the way to Thredbo. A staff member from a resort made the comment below, which really raises the question was this warranted on a Saturday when following the best snow conditions occurred in years, it was most unlikely that many of the drivers of cars filled with children on the way to the snow, would have been out drinking the night before. “I got caught up in the police RBT exercise outside Jindabyne on Saturday - spent one and a half hours getting from Munyang Street and the five blocks to the breathalyser just past the Snowy Mountains Grammar School! Hence late
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for work along with countless other mountain staff today instructors, lift operators, restaurant staff. “What a disgrace! Imagine how people felt having driven from Sydney, Canberra or anywhere far away, looking forward to their ski weekend after all the publicity put out by the resorts, only to sit in the two-hour police generated traffic jam purely so police could be seen to be apparently controlling drink driving. Anyone with half a grain of sense who had been drinking the night before, would have turned around at the roundabouts anyway to avoid being tested and headed back into town, then go up later once the police had gone! “There is a need to get the message to NSW Police that they need a different location and methodology for random breath testing.” President of the Lake Eucumbene Chamber of Commerce and former Member for Monaro Peter Cochran has offered a simple short term solution to the problems faced by Jindabyne ski traffic exiting the skifields in recent times. “A dual carriageway is needed between Cooma and the skifields through Jindabyne to Perisher and Thredbo to improve safety and access but is unlikely to occur within the next five years and certainly not within the next year. While these roads are at bursting point, the Snowy Mountain Highway to Adaminaby and carpark at Selwyn Snowfields have ample capacity to carry more traffic in times of peak demand,” Mr Cochran explained Continued on page 6...
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