State Member for Wallsend, Ms Sonia Hornery MP, has called on Police to increase patrols along McCaffrey Drive after another near miss for residents on Sunday.
A young driver crashed into a power pole in the early hours of Sunday morning, narrowly missing residents sleeping in their homes. The accident also caused extensive damage to infrastructure and a major power outage in the area.
Police patrols along McCaffrey Drive are irregular and the speed camera in place further along the road has already shown to be failure.
Quotes attributable to Member for Wallsend, Sonia Hornery
“I will today be speaking with Police about increasing patrols to deal with drivers who use McCaffrey Drive as a speedway at night.”
“Residents who contacted me over the weekend said they were fed up with speeding drivers and that this was not the first time a car had ended up in someone’s front yard.”
“We are very lucky that nobody was killed as a result of this accident. The power pole was completely snapped off at the base and live wires were left hanging over residents’ homes.”
“Residents want to see an increased Police presence along McCaffrey Drive to prevent speeding drivers before someone is killed.”
“The Government needs to get on with completing Stage Five of the Newcastle Inner City Bypass, which will see a reduction in the volume of traffic using McCaffrey Drive as a rat run.”
“The Government should also review the positioning of the speed camera, given its remarkable failure to reduce casualty crashes in the area.”