Mackay Sugar teams with Wilmar Sugar and Tully Sugar to launch new cane train safety campaign Mackay Sugar has teamed with Wilmar Sugar and Tully Sugar to promote cane train crossing safety throughout the Mackay, Townsville and Cairns regions.

The partnership will deliver a new hard-hitting multimedia advertising campaign, reminding drivers of the dangers associated with cane train crossings.

Commencing today (1 June), in conjunction with the start of the Mackay region’s milling operations, the new advertising campaign will aim to influence a positive change in driver behaviour at cane train crossings this crushing season.

According to Mackay Sugar Communications Manager and campaign coordinator Lorelei van Dalen, the sugar mills record an average of three near misses at cane train crossings every week during each crushing season.

“More often than not, the near misses at our crossings involve motorists ignoring the flashing lights and racing across the crossing to beat the approaching cane train.

“This sort of behaviour could one day result in a fatality.

“We’d like to urge drivers to be alert when approaching cane traincrossings and, if the lights are flashing, we want drivers to STOP and not take any risks.

“Our locomotives travel at a relatively low speed, but they’re heavy and are often carrying a heavy load, which means they can’t stop in a hurry.

“The new advertising campaign depicts the two most common scenarios that result in near misses at our cane train crossings.

“We’ve joined forces with Wilmar Sugar and Tully Sugar to deliver this campaign because cane train safety is a shared priority across the whole sugar industry,” Ms van Dalen said.

The advertising campaign will include television and radio commercials, billboards and various other print and online materials.

Queensland Police will also assist the sugar mills in monitoring driver behaviour at cane train crossings throughout the season.

Cane trains will be operating throughout the Mackay, Townsville and Cairns regions until early to midNovember

(end of season).