A major intersection at Alexandra Hills will receive a safety upgrade with the installation of innovative technology designed to protect motorists from red-light runners.
The state government will expand its award-winning ‘Hold the Red’ system to 15 sites across Queensland as part of a $1.5b investment in road safety over the next four years.
Main Roads Minister Mark Bailey made the announcement as part of National Road Safety Week, which ran from May 14-21.
The technology will be installed at the “high risk” Windemere and Finucane Road intersection.
Hold the Red is a crash avoidance system which detects vehicles about to run a red light and implements a two-second delay that prevents other motorists or pedestrians from entering the intersection.
Trials of the technology through the Centre for Accident Research and Road Safety Queensland found Hold the Red can reduce the chance of red-light running crashes by 33 per cent.
It comes at a critical time for road safety, with 83 people losing their lives on Queensland roads already this year.
Capalaba MP Don Brown said the technology was a “game changer”.
“This intersection in Alexandra Hills is particularly high risk, as there is lots of pedestrian traffic,” he said
“It’s close to two childcare centres as well as schools.”
Mr Bailey said 15 signalised intersections with a history of red-light running had been selected for the upcoming roll-out.
“Motorists who run red lights pose a potentially deadly risk to other road users,” he said.
“An evaluation of our ‘Hold the Red’ trial sites found the system can dramatically improve safety by reducing potential conflicts between red-light runners and cross traffic by more than 33 per cent.
“We’re rolling out this life-saving technology to an additional 15 signalised intersections across the state.”
The state government has set targets in its Queensland Road Safety Strategy of reducing fatalities by 50 per cent and serious injuries by 30 per cent.
