12:00a.m. 8th August 2008

| By Nicola Kerkenezov

Noosa SES volunteers deal with more than their fair share of emergencies and accidents.

So, the last thing these dedicated community members need is a blasting by impatient motorists at road blocks.

But such insensitive actions are unfortunately escalating, Noosa SES local controller Dave Hanchard said, coming to a head at the recent Pomona King of The Mountain Festival.

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The branch head said the “final straw” came when several motorists took their anger out on two “extremely dedicated” female SES volunteers manning road-closure barriers.

“What was surprising was that many were people going to church!” said Cooroy SES group leader Carol Watkins who worked at the event from 6.30am-5.30pm.

“We had runners on the road so cars could not go through, but as soon as it was safe to do so, cars would have been allowed to proceed.

“However, three broke the law and endangered competitors by ignoring the road closure and others were extremely abusive – it became a real nightmare and I feel reluctant to face such a negative situation again.”

Mr Hanchard said his SES volunteers were fed up by the abuse and would report incidents to police who could dock driving points and issue fines of up to $1500.

“Our policy is to basically help people as much as we can and keep a smiling face but this is hard when you are volunteering and don’t get paid,” he said.

“Volunteers are now instructed to take down registration details, make and model of car, and a driver’s description when there is trouble.

“When we are on the roads or at an event, we are under police direction and are basically an authority.

“We don’t like holding people up but being abused for it doesn’t help. There is no justification for running stop signs.

“All we are asking is that people have a bit of patience and don’t shoot the messenger. Talk quietly to our personnel if you have a genuine worry and we will see what we can do.”

Pomona King of The Mountain Festival president Colin Jackson said he was shocked by the trouble the SES faced at the event.

“It doesn’t help when SES are abused. We must make people aware that they are volunteers and trying to do a community function for the enjoyment of everyone,” he said.

Meanwhile, Mr Jackson said the festival was a success, expected to have made $6000 to $7000 for community projects. Competitor numbers were also up on last year from 73 to about 80 runners.