A Safer Ruskin Road

Thompson Beach - Ruskin Road

Thompson Beach residents were very happy to see new line marking work carried out on Ruskin Road recently.

Ruskin Road is the road that connects Dublin to Thompson Beach. The centre and edge lines had faded to the point that in some sections under certain conditions, the markings were nearly impossible to see. There’s certainly a big difference now as you can see above.

As a result of the line marking, travelling between the two towns will be safer and the we thank Adelaide Plains Council for arranging this work to be carried out.

Drive To Survive (And So Native Wildlife Can Too)

On a related note, being a rural and national park area, native wildlife can often be seen near (and on) the road – including kangaroos, birds of prey and reptiles.

While the speed limit on much of Ruskin Road is 100 km/hr, you should drive to conditions and bear in mind the presence of wildlife. Kangaroos can often be seen from before dusk until well after sunrise. However, they have also been known to bound out of the bush onto the road in the middle of the day.

If you’re travelling at 100 km/hr, you’ll have little chance of avoiding a kangaroo that jumps out in front of you. Hitting a roo at that speed will not only make a mess of the kangaroo, but quite likely your vehicle as well.

If you should hit a kangaroo, please stop and check on its condition if it is safe to pull over (use your hazard lights when parked). Be careful when approaching the roo – if it’s injured it may lash out if you get too close or thrash around making its injuries worse.

In the case of injured kangaroos, call Fauna Rescue on (08) 8289 0896 for advice/assistance.

If the kangaroo is dead, check for the presence of a joey. If the joey is alive, call RooResQ on (08) 8540 2417 or 0417 528 887.

If the roo is dead, please drag it well off the road if you can and clear the road of any debris from your vehicle (but watch for traffic). Removing the roo from the roadside not only helps protect other drivers, but also wildlife that may feed on its remains.

Ruskin Road is also frequented by sleepy lizards, (aka shinglebacks or stumpies). It’s been very sad to see the number of sleepies killed by vehicles over the warmer months. These reptiles move slowly and usually can be easily avoided, so please keep an eye out for them.