DAVE Brazier could not believe his eyes when a ute shot out in front of his car and almost took out the vehicle travelling next to him.
The Newcastle resident, who spent several years on the roads as a bus driver, caught the entire incident on dashcam.
The nail-biting near miss occurred at the Carrington roundabout on Hannell Street Wickham on Wednesday evening.
“I was on my way home and the traffic was pretty busy,” Mr Brazier said.
“I really hate that roundabout because when I was a police student I attended a fatal accident there.
“It is a particularly busy section of the road and it gives me the heebie-jeebies.”
Mr Brazier said the ute driver seemed “completely oblivious” to the other cars on the road and drove straight into oncoming traffic.
“The people in the blue car were elderly, but luckily they had their wits about them,” he said.
“They stopped in a matter of seconds. If they hadn’t done that it would have been a lot worse.”
The incident was the last straw for Mr Brazier who said he sees disgruntled commuters do dangerous things at least three times a week. He wanted to release the video as a reminder to motorists to pay attention, drive safely and expect the unexpected.
His words were echoed by Senior Sergeant Tony Grace from Hunter Highway Patrol.
“The vast majority of accidents are local people going about their local business,” Sergeant Grace said.
“We go to a lot of accidents that involve people on their daily commute.
“They are doing dangerous things because of impatience.
“Is it worth being one minute early at the risk of injuring yourself or others?
“In most cases you are racing to the next red light.”
Sergeant Shane Dawes from Newcastle Highway Patrol pushed home the message that drivers need to be more aware of the ramifications of their poor decisions on the roads.
“Ask yourself who is the safest driver you know,” he said.
“If it’s not you, then change your actions.”
- Residents who capture serious traffic offences on video are encouraged to take the footage to their local police station and lodge a report.
Jessica Brown
Jessica began her journalism career in 2009 as a cadet at The Port Stephens Examiner before moving to London for a two-year stint working in magazines and digital publishing. The Lake Macquarie local returned to Australia where she took up a reporting role at The Maitland Mercury. She worked across several rounds including local council, police and property before moving into digital journalism and joining the team at The Newcastle Herald in 2017.
Jessica began her journalism career in 2009 as a cadet at The Port Stephens Examiner before moving to London for a two-year stint working in magazines and digital publishing. The Lake Macquarie local returned to Australia where she took up a reporting role at The Maitland Mercury. She worked across several rounds including local council, police and property before moving into digital journalism and joining the team at The Newcastle Herald in 2017.
