Victorians have had their say on the state’s most dangerous country roads, demanding improvements to address ongoing safety concerns.
The Royal Automobile Club of Victoria (RACV) received more than 7000 responses to its My Country Road survey, which found that drivers consider Victoria’s most hazardous road to be the Melba Highway between Coldstream and Yea (B300).
Tylden-Woodend Road between Woodend and Tylden (C317) received the second highest number of safety concerns, followed by Kilmore Road from Monegeetta to Gisborne (C708).
Tylden-Woodend Road
The following roads received the most responses:
- Melba Hwy, Coldstream to Yea (B300)
- Tylden-Woodend Road, Woodend to Tylden (C317)
- Kilmore Road, Monegeetta to Gisborne (C708)
- Goulburn Valley Hwy, Nagambie to Shepparton (A39)
- Princes Hwy, Warrnambool to Portland (A1)
- Western Hwy, Trawalla to Beaufort (A8)
- Bass Hwy, Jam Jerrup to Leongatha (M420/B460)
- Princes Hwy, Colac to Stonyford (A1)
- Princes Hwy, Stratford to Bairnsdale (A1)
- Great Alpine Road, Bairnsdale to Wangaratta (B500)
- Bacchus Marsh Road, Balliang to Lara (C704)
- Phillip Island Road, Phillip Island (B420).
Drivers also identified the junction of the Midland Highway and Howard Street in Epsom as the most dangerous intersection in regional Victoria.
Poor road condition was the main complaint made by respondents, with 64 per cent identifying potholes and the general state of road surfaces as the top issue facing regional motorists.
Survey respondents also took aim at driving standards – 32 per cent identified dangerous driving (e.g. speeding, erratic driving) as their foremost concern.
Kilmore Road
Narrow lanes, intersection safety issues and limited overtaking opportunities were also highlighted.
Across the board, 78 per cent of those surveyed identified a location to be ‘dangerous’ or ‘very dangerous’.
The most popular solution to state-wide road safety concerns was road surface improvements, which received 60 per cent of respondent votes.
Wider roads and lower speed limits were also among the top remedies – 56 per cent of participants believe the speed limit on the top 12 most dangerous roads should be reduced.
With that said, only 14 per cent supported lower speed limits for all rural roads.
As of June 30, Victoria had the third highest road toll of any Australian state, with 139 lives lost over the first six months of 2024.
Princes Highway, Warrnambool to Portland
While Victoria has seen a year-on-year decline in the road toll, the national tally for the first half of 2024 was 634, an increase of 7.5 per cent over the corresponding period last year (590).
Data from the latest RACV survey will be presented to governments with the goal of informing future policy.
“As a safety advocate, it’s important that RACV closely examines what Victorians think are the factors contributing to unsafe road conditions, so we can provide that information to all levels of government and encourage action,” said RACV’s head of policy, James Williams.
“Sixteen of the twenty-one most dangerous roads identified in the 2021 survey received upgrades and improvements by government; but more work needs to be undertaken to improve the safety of regional roads.”
Back in May, the Federal Government announced it will require states and territories to provide previously withheld road safety data if they want to receive road funding.
For the first time, it says it will “seek to include a provision in this negotiated agreement with the states that will create a requirement for the provision of a nationally consistent data set”.
MORE: Melbourne’s worst roads and intersections revealed
MORE: Australian road toll skyrockets as UN announces bold new goals
