RACV’s My Country Road survey revealed that the Goulburn Valley Hwy from Nagambie to Shepparton was the fourth-most reported road in terms of safety concerns.
Meanwhile, the Melba Hwy from Coldstream to Yea received the most safety complaints, and the survey identified the most dangerous intersection in regional Victoria as the junction of the Midland Hwy and Howard St in Epsom, north of Bendigo.
When looking at driver concerns, 64 per cent of participants identified potholes and poor road condition as a primary safety issue; up from 46 per cent in 2021.
Potholes pose a safety risk for drivers as they try to avoid damaging their vehicles by swerving, which could lead to loss of control and collisions with oncoming traffic.
Fourteen per cent of participants supported ‘a lower or more appropriate speed limit’ as a measure to improve road safety.
That response rose to 56 per cent on the top 12 worst roads.
RACV head of policy James Williams said the data from the survey indicated that the condition of regional roads was of major concern for Victorians.
“The number of responses received is a strong indicator that Victorians are concerned about safety on regional roads and are calling for urgent improvement,” he said.
“Sixty per cent of survey participants think that improving road surfaces should be the priority road safety solution.”
In 2021, ‘dangerous driver behaviour’ was the biggest concern. This year, ‘poor road conditions’ received more than double its number of responses.
Fifty-eight per cent of survey participants said they used the road they identified every day, a level of local knowledge Mr Williams said had been invaluable in identifying Victoria’s most unsafe roads.
“Sixteen of the 21 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,” he said.
The survey used an online interactive map that showed high-speed roads with large concentrations of crashes causing death or serious injury in regional Victoria.
The map highlighted roads with speed limits of 80km/h or higher where there had been fatal or serious crashes for the five-year period between 2018 and 2023.
Participants provided feedback by clicking on one of the highlighted roads and filling out a survey. Nominations for other high-risk roads were also welcome.
RACV will use the data from the survey to encourage the Victorian Government and local councils to make commitments that deliver safer regional roads.
Some 7000 people responded to the survey this year, an increase of 75 per cent from 4000 responses in 2021.
To view the full results, visit: racv.com.au/haveyoursay
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