Newlyn Dean Country Fire Authority volunteers are urging road users to display patience along the Midland Highway after responding to their sixth crash in five months on the region’s busiest road.
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Emergency services were called to a two-car crash between two southbound vehicles just outside of the township of Newlyn at about 9.30am on Friday.
A Suburu wagon had been attempting to turn right into a private residence when a minivan attempted to overtake, crashing into the side of the vehicle.
Traffic was slowed to a crawl for about an hour while tow trucks cleared the vehicles from the scene.
While three people were taken to the Ballarat Base Hospital there were no serious injuries from the crash.
Newlyn Dean CFA deputy group officer Daryl Williams said careless driving was often to blame rather than the condition of the highway itself.
“This is the second incident that could have been avoided had people been aware of their surroundings and what the vehicle in front of them of beside them was doing,” Mr Williams said.
“Everyone’s in too much of a hurry and they’re not concentrating on what they’re doing.”
While the occupants of Friday morning’s crash were all able to walk away with no serious injuries, the same could not be said for other accidents along the Midland Highway in recent months.
In October an Invermay Park man in aged his 30s was killed after he collided into a tree while heading south along the Highway at 6.20pm, with the car catching fire soon after.
In February emergency services were again called out to another fatality on the Highway, this time in Newlyn North. The male, who was driving an SUV, crashed into a small truck and died on the scene.
Mr Williams said while the crashes were proving to be a drain on the limited time and resources of volunteers, the bigger fear was the number of accidents which come close to adding to the state road toll.
“As a volunteer we’re getting called out more and more for this type of job (which is frustrating) considering this could have been avoided,” Mr Williams said.
Creswick Leading Senior Constable Simon Barker, who attended the crash on Friday morning, said police were still making inquires into the accident.