Safety plea

They are appealing for simple ‘‘fixes’’ that will force cars to slow down and pay more attention at the crossing.

Leading the charge is Tocumwal resident Robert Owen, who said he’s had to dodge cars while providing traffic control at the crossing for school children.

After several attempts to have someone address the issue, Mr Owen called a public meeting.

It was attended by about 12 community members on Monday night.

‘‘We resolved at that meeting to write a letter to Berrigan Shire Council, formally putting forward some of our suggestions on how to improve safety,’’ Mr Owen said.

‘‘What we need to do at that crossing is to slow traffic to at least 40km per hour.

‘‘Some suggestions are to install rumble strips or a raised crossing.

‘‘Some people have said the problem might be the result of vision issues because of the hedges, but others suggest some drivers just don’t appear to care (that a crossing is there).

‘‘Addressing those hedges is another of the solutions we will be putting to council.’’

Mr Owen said there have been some suggestions that remediation works cannot be undertaken at the crossing because there has not been a reportable incident there.

But he said it should not take someone being injured to address the safety concerns.

‘‘It is a 50km/h zone but some cars going through there seem to go a bit faster, and many don't seem to look (for pedestrians).

‘‘I was there is an orange vest during school events a few times last year, and I was nearly hit by a car at least six times. How do you not see someone in an orange vest?

‘‘I’ve been trying to get this fixed for a little while now, but I was getting nowhere on my own so I called the public meeting.

‘‘We should not be waiting for someone to get hit before doing something.’’

Mr Owen has previously met with a representative of the NSW Roads, and has also previously approached police and the council.