Going on a road trip is one of the most popular activities, especially with the summer holidays coming up. The peak body for road safety and efficiency in Australia and New Zealand Austroads has shared a list of the most dangerous roads.
Austroads, which oversees the Australian Road Assessment Program (AusRAP), has mapped the safety of major roads using a one-to-five-star system. One-star roads have the lowest level of built-in safety and are more likely to see serious crashes.
Austroads chief executive Geoff Allan said these roads often have narrow lanes, little separation between oncoming traffic, roadside hazards like trees or poles, and intersections with limited protection.
“While one-star roads have the lowest levels of built-in safety, they’re not always the first to be upgraded. Australia’s road network is extensive, and it’s not possible to upgrade every section at once,” he told Drive.
“For motorists who regularly travel on one-star roads, reducing speed remains one of the most effective ways to minimise risk.”
Victoria leads the nation for high-risk roads, with 27 one-star-rated roads. Most are in regional and mountainous areas where visibility is low, the terrain is winding and weather can change quickly.
Major routes such as the Omeo Highway, Snowy River Road, Mount Baw Baw Road and Warburton–Woods Point Road all appear on the list.
The Victorian government is now considering reducing the default 100km/h rural speed limit to 70–90km/h on some roads in response to high regional fatality rates. Safety experts say better road design, not just patch-ups like pothole repairs, is also needed.
Professor Stuart Newstead from the Monash University Accident Research Centre said the biggest problem is the gap between road quality and the speed limits allowed.
“One of the issues we have in a number of areas is the fundamental incompatibility of the speeds we’re allowing people to use those roads at,” he told Drive.
“We need to upgrade the design standard of the road to be consistent with the speeds you’re allowing people to travel at.”
New South Wales and Western Australia each have only two one-star roads, including Yarrangobilly Caves Road in NSW and part of Beeliar Drive in Perth. The ACT and Northern Territory have just one each, including a 1.2km section of Kings Highway in the ACT, and the Trephina Gorge off the Ross Highway in the Northern Territory.
Queensland and South Australia are still finalising their data.
Dr Allan says the AusRAP ratings matter because the link between road design and deaths is clear.
“There is a strong, evidence-based correlation between AusRAP star ratings and the likelihood of death or serious injury,” he said.
“Each additional star rating roughly halves the risk of death or serious injury in the event of a crash.”
Image: Supplied
