While camels, cattle and kangaroos are well known road hazards in regional Australia, meandering crocodiles aren’t normally considered a major problem to grey nomads and other motorists.
However, after two near croc crashes in northern Queensland, police are warning drivers to be on the lookout for the giant reptiles.
In the past week, a motorist driving her vehicle along Lucinda Point Road at Halifax, north of Townsville, almost ran into a crocodile that was crossing there. And, at the same location a few weeks earlier, a patrolling police car had to take evasive action to avoid a collision with a crocodile.
A Queensland Police Service (QPS) statement said a crash with large crocodiles may result in serious road accidents, and it warned motorists to be vigilant and ‘prepare for the unexpected’.
“With mangroves located on either side of the road these incidents occurred around high tides which may have made the ‘crocodile crossings’ a little easier,” the QPS statement read. “Motorists should take extra care and are being warned that with the present high tides in the night-time, crocodile crossings of the roads in the area may occur particularly where mangroves and water lines the roadside.”
And police have also issued a similar warning about snakes after a motorist called Halifax police after finding a large python blocking the road to her property.
