A Sherlock Holmes of Traffic.

 A Sherlock Holmes of Traffic.

Fred thumbed through his emails. 

Email - Accident - Bell and Sydney Rd intersection 

"no thank you, the north is so dull."

Email - Accident - Kyoong and huntingfield Rd, right hand turn

Officer Mike briefly wrote up the crash where an ambulance was called for lacerations and a head injury, expected full recovery.  He wrote that a 42 male year old - deemed to be at fault - turned right in front of oncoming traffic.  They were hit to the back left of the car.  Estimated crash speed of 40km/hr.

Fred quickly typed it into google maps and rolled his eyes.  Of course there is going to be an accident there the view is obstructed by a tree and parked cars.

He clicked reply to the email and CC'ed VIC roads traffic management.

'

To Officer Mike and Vic Roads Traffic Management

This was an accident waiting to happen.  The view is obstructed  Please move the parking bays 2-3 m away from the intersection, before a similar crash happens again.

Regards

Fred 

Volunteer Traffic analysis

'

He logged the accident in his excel sheet and kept reading.

Email - Accident - Springvale, Dandong, Centre, police.

Fred shuddered - That intersection is cursed.  A super collider of 3 major roads.  Until the state did major infrastructure there he would continue to get his weekly crash there.

Fred finished logging the crashes in the excel spread sheet and got read to finish for the night.

Email - Accident - Cooper and High Street - 1 critically injured.

Fred read the email

Officer Jess had written it up 

'

56 Year old female heading west ran a red at 60km/hr  impact to front of car

Hit 22 year old male, hit drivers side door.  

Male Critically injured.  Taken to Northern hospital via ambulance.  Later transferred to Royal Melbourne Hospital.

'

Fred added it to the spread sheet,

It flagged - 3rd significant crash at this intersection in as many years.  He had also recorded 4 other crashes at this site.

Time for an inspection he thought.

2 humdrum days passed with out much of note.

Fred parked and walked to the intersection after parking around the block.

A traffic light intersection 

2 lanes north bound, 2 turning right, a left turn cut away

2 south bound, 1 turning right

2 west bound 1 turning right, a left turn cut away

2 east bound 1 turning right

appropriate line markings

busy intersection

The light cycle of right turns, and straights alternating in north south and east west.

"So why the 7 crashes 3 serious. in 3 years?"

He studied up the spread sheet - 5 were west bound in the afternoon.

The lights - the traffic light looked as if it had slightly rotated.  Afternoon sun making it hard to see the high traffic light - the lower light was twisted.  At the wrong time, it would be hard to see anything.  Plus travel west along Cooper St is slightly quite meaning there is less chance of traffic and more of an open road.  

It took him twenty minuets to solve the case.

He typed up a email.

'

Response to Crash cooper and high street

to - Officer Jess and VIC roads traffic management

I have attended the scene of the crash.  My data base suggests this is the 7th crash at this location in the past 3 years.  5 have been traveling westward along cooper street.  3 crashes have been significant.   It seems that the traffic light has rotated making the red light hard to see.  Brief maintenance of the central pole is likely to fix the issue.

Regards

Fred 

Volunteer Traffic analysis

'

Fred scanned his emails as he arrived home.

Officer Jess had replied

Email - Update on Accident - Cooper and High street

Critical injury has been upgraded to a fatality. 

RIP