Protecting those who protect us this National Road Safety Week

When there is a crash or breakdown on one of our main arterial roads, Jenna Hall, one of our highly trained Traffic Response Officers, is among the first to respond. 

After receiving the call, she heads out to manage the incident. That can involve clearing the scene, providing safe diversions for drivers, minimising traffic delays and congestion or simply providing two-way communication with local Transport Management Centres.  

“The job can be stressful, especially when it’s a crash and you are the first on scene where you have to create an exclusion zone, try and manage the traffic and everyone around you is slowing down to have a look,” Mrs Hall said. 

“For me, I really enjoy helping people. 

“You have to remember that for some people it could be their first time stuck on the side of the road and they might not know what to do or who to call.”

Jenna joined our team six months ago after working in a similar role with Transport for New South Wales. 

Her family jumped at the opportunity to relocate to Queensland as soon as the New South Wales border reopened during COVID-19. 

“RACQ is one of the safest companies I have worked for with the best training,” she said. 

“I feel safe when I pull over because I know I can only stop at certain speed limits and I can have an RACQ bump truck come out and sit behind me to alert drivers to move over or slow down when passing. 

“We also provide a great service for the community where, if you breakdown on the side of an arterial road, we can organise a tow truck to move the vehicle to a safer location.”

Jenna is just one of our roadside workers who put their lives on the line daily as they work in high-risk and often high-speed environments to rescue stranded motorists. 

That’s why we are pleased, after five years of advocating, a new road rule will be introduced in Queensland which will require motorists to move over or slow down when passing a roadside incident.