Waroona Shire has again warned four-wheel drivers to take care on Preston Beach after multiple car accidents in recent weeks.
In the last fortnight, three cars have overturned along Preston Beach, which is often populated by families and holidaymakers.
Waroona Shire ranger Noel Dew said the issue of drivers on Preston Beach is becoming the ranger-team’s biggest issue.
“We put a lot of time and effort into making sure Preston Beach and other surrounding beaches can be used by everyone,” he said.
“We’re volunteers, so we’re putting time into these places because we’re locals and we care about these places.
“But especially on weekends, it’s just becoming untenable.
“We understand that Preston Beach is a thoroughfare between a lot of four-wheel driving areas like White Hills and Tim’s Thicket.
“But at the same time, people need to understand that this is a public beach with a lot of holiday-makers. Speeding down it at 80 kilometres an hour is just not on.”
Mr Dew said one of the biggest factors in the accidents has been ignorance of beach conditions.
“Especially at this time of the year, the conditions on the beach can change pretty dramatically,” he said.
“With the tide, the structure of the beach can change completely in a matter of hours. There’s people who don’t understand this, and will be taken by surprise when their care hits a dune or a berm, and they completely lose control.”
Mr Dew urged anyone driving on or around Preston Beeach to pay attention to signage and read the guidelines on the Shire of Waroona’s website.
“We’ve set the speed limit at 20 kilometres an hour, but we don’t mind if people go a bit over that,” he said.
“We’re just trying to make sure people use common sense in these situations.
“We’ve even had people driving onto the beach with their tires at full pressure – they haven’t realised you need to let your tires down.
“A little bit of knowledge goes a long way.”
