By Luke Voogt
A quarter of crashes on the Great Ocean Road “involving foreign drivers” has prompted a local MP to launch a safety petition this week.
Corangamite MP Sarah Henderson on Tuesday called on State Government to take tougher action on international driver safety following a community forum at Apollo Bay last Friday.
“There were a number of emotional testimonies as local residents spoke about serious accidents in which they had been involved on and around the Great Ocean Road,” she said.
“One bus driver said that driving along the Great Ocean Road was like playing ‘Russian roulette’.
“Some 25 per cent of reported accidents on the Great Ocean Road involve foreign drivers. Many more incidents go unreported.”
Ms Henderson accused State Government of not taking the issue seriously and urged it to “improve international driver safety”.
She also urged hire operators to take responsibility for renting vehicles to people with inadequate driving skills.
“This practice is extremely dangerous and is putting lives at risk,” she said.
“The hiring of vehicles to foreign visa holders who have inadequate driving skills or no knowledge of local road laws, whether they be tourists, students or people on working holiday visas, is potentially negligent.”
All foreigners on a temporary visa could drive on Victorian roads using an overseas licence, meaning that many were doing so with very limited skills or experience, Ms Henderson said.
But Roads Minister Jaala Pulford said State Government had no plans to change the requirements for international drivers.
“We’ve already delivered a range of measures to help international visitors travel safely, including a new campaign targeting tourists, multilingual signage and line markings.
“We’d be happy to work with the Federal Government if they wanted to do more in this space – unfortunately it seems Sarah Henderson and the Liberals are more interested in pointing fingers and playing grubby politics than finding solutions.”
International drivers were involved in 2.6 per cent of crashes on Victorian roads, compared to interstate drivers who were involved in 3.1 per cent, Ms Pulford added.
A hire car operator, who wished not be identified, told the Indy international drivers were an important part of the rental market.
But it was very difficult to separate “one in ten” bad drivers from the rest, they said.
“If you ask the customer personally everyone is going to tell you they’re the best driver.
“We either shut the door on all international rentals ,which will destroy the industry, or introduce more stringent controls on international licencing.”
The Indy contacted several Geelong hire car operators who declined to comment.
