Plea to stop road carnage

He has been a member of Ballarat fire brigade's volunteer Road Accident Rescue Squad for the past nine years and the squad's second in charge for more than two years.

The 15 squad members, backed by a solid group of reserves, have the job of cutting vehicles open so that the dead and injured can be freed from their ruined vehicles.

It's a job they wish they didn't have to do.

Since January, the squad has attended 31 accidents. This includes one at Scarsdale on Sunday, in which brothers Shane and Troy Ferguson were killed and Shane's partner Maureen Cunningham was injured seriously.

The brothers are two of 16 people who have died in traffic accidents in the Ballarat region, which stretches from Stawell to Ballan, since January 1 this year.

In country Victoria, 140 people have died in traffic accidents so far this year, 23 more than for the same period last year.

The state toll presently sits at 293, 12 fewer than for the same period last year.

First Lieutenant Cartledge, Ballarat brigade Captain Wayne Pengelly and second Lieutenant (third-in-charge) Craig Adams explained that the rescue squad volunteers were trained to cope with their job.

While working at an accident scene, squad members were so focused they were often only conscious of the wreck.

"It's not until you look back that you see the reality of the situation," Mr Cartledge said.

But there were situations that could prove too much.

At the Scarsdale accident, one member of the squad knew the two men who died, Mr Pengelly said.

It was a risk taken by all squad members each time they were called to an emergency.

"You never know when you go out whether you are going to know the people or not," he said.

"And in a place like Ballarat that can easily happen."

That member received immediate counselling, Mr Pengelly said.

The accident also motivated Mr Cartledge to write a letter to The Courier, which was published yesterday, pleading with the region's motorists to take care on the roads.

"I was just hoping to get something out that might make someone think, `Well, if these guys are getting sick of it (the problem must be bad)'," he said.

"We just want to try and stop a few of these accidents from happening."

Mr Adams said many of the accidents the squad attended were easily preventable - such as situations where the driver might have been drinking, but passengers were sober.

One of the greatest road safety tools is commonsense.