Canberra Daily’s March 2021 highlights include the opening of the new Batemans Bay Bridge, concerns about suspicious door knocking in Weston Creek, and a 14-year-old child genius starting a bachelor’s degree at university.

Motorcyclist dies at scene of fatal Monaro Highway accident

In a tragic start to the month, a motorcyclist died on 1 March in a fatal multi-vehicle accident on the Monaro Highway north of Michelago that resulted in the highway being closed in both directions for most of the day.

The motorcyclist died at the scene after their vehicle collided with a truck.

Traffic on the Monaro Highway was affected by the accident since at least 8.32am, with light vehicles still being diverted around the crash onto Kelly Road as at 3.17pm.

Keeping tradition: foot traffic the first to cross new Batemans Bay Bridge

The opening of the new $274 million Batemans Bay Bridge was celebrated on Saturday 27 March, with the coastal community invited to be the first to walk across the result of 722,000 hours of construction.

Innes’ Boatshed co-owner, Tracey Innes, enjoyed a front row view of the action from her waterfront fish and chip shop a few hundred metres away.

She said the community was excited for the opening of the new bridge, while preparing to say goodbye to its 65-year-old predecessor.

Before the now disassembled old bridge opened, the most common way to travel from shore to shore was by canoe, boat or punt ferry.

Concerns about three months of suspicious door knocking in Weston Creek

Since January, members of the Weston Creek community have posted publicly on social media to say they were shocked by loud knocking on the door before the sun rose, to find a visibly upset middle-aged man asking for money to help him travel to Sydney, where he said his daughter had been killed in a car accident.

For three months, community members who did not believe his oft-repeated story of personal tragedy shared updates in Facebook groups such as Weston Creek Neighbourhood Watch, detailing his behaviour, location and sharing photos identifying the alleged scammer.  

The doorknocker is said to offer to drive residents to an ATM if they say they don’t have cash, and he is also known to approach shoppers in the Cooleman Court carpark and escort them to an ATM.

If you are a victim of a scam and require police attendance, call 131 444.

Information on how to identify scams and protect yourself is available at www.scamwatch.gov.au.

Anyone who sees suspicious activity in their neighbourhood is urged to report it to Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or via the Crime Stoppers ACT website.

New cameras will target mobile phone use in cars

In March it was announced mobile device detection cameras would be introduced in the ACT in the second half of 2021 to target driver distraction and improve road safety.

The ACT Government has funded this initiative as part of their commitment to Vision Zero – no deaths or serious injuries on our roads.

Driver distraction was a major safety issue on ACT roads, Minister for Transport and City Services Chris Steel said.

Drivers who looked at their mobile phone were three times more likely to be involved in a crash, while those who texted and looked at emails on their mobile phone increased their crash risk tenfold.

Mobile phone cameras in other states have reduced illegal mobile device use while driving, Mr Steel said; in NSW, for instance, it decreased by 80%.

14-year-old Benjamin Francis begins a bachelor’s degree

In March 2021, 2020 dux of St Edmund’s College, 14-year-old Benjamin Francis, talked to Canberra Daily while in the first weeks of a bachelor’s degree.

“This trimester I’m doing applied physics, calculus, biology and chemistry,” he said.

The ability to study online helped Benjamin work around requirements for tertiary students under the age of 17 to be accompanied by a parent on campus, and he said he wasn’t keen to wait two years to get cracking.

Benjamin began extension activities halfway through primary school, although he remained in his assigned year group until grade six.

After primary school, he skipped to year nine and then bypassed another grade to begin year 11 at just 12 years of age.

Benjamin was one of two radically accelerated students in St Edmund’s top 10 ATAR group in 2020.

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