RACV rates 80% of Victoria's roads sub standard

Deadly or dangerous roads have nowhere to hide, following the RACV's release in early October of the first ever safety star ratings for nearly 5000km of Victoria's country highways, that showed nearly 80% were sub standard.

Together with the Australian Automobile Association, it developed the Australian Road Assessment Program (AusRAP), which classifies roads from one-star (least safe) to five-star (safest) based on the road's inherent safety features.

Just as safety star ratings have been developed for vehicles, roads can now be rated for safety based on how their design helps prevent crashes from occurring, or minimises severity of crashes.

The state has no significant lengths of five-star highways, with 54% scoring three stars, and 24% only achieving a two-star rating.

The most unsafe roads included sections of the Midland Highway between Ballarat and Geelong and the Western Highway between Ararat and Horsham. No highways received a rating less than two stars.

Many of the highways that received three stars were among the busiest. But some sections of the Hume and Princes highways only received an average safety rating.

RACV traffic and roads chief engineer Peter Daly said the results demonstrated much work was required. “Our safest roads are our freeways, with 22% rating four stars. But even they aren't as safe they could or should be,” he said. “RACV believes that a three-star rating is totally unacceptable for our busiest country highways. Upgrades are urgently required to bring these roads up to four stars in the short term and five stars in the longer term. A modern divided freeway can be up to 20 times safer than roads with only one lane in each direction.

“But it's not only about freeway upgrades – star ratings show that relatively low-cost improvements to our high-risk roads have the potential to dramatically lower the road toll.”

Examples of such improvements include sealed shoulders, better overtaking provision, improved intersections and safer roadsides, where trees, poles and steep embankments are removed or protected with safety barriers.

Mr Daly said it would cost $3.4bn to make roads safer and called on the Victorian and Commonwealth governments to increase road funding.

He said RACV had called on the State Government to allocate at least $200m a year to bring Victoria's rural highways up to modern safety standards.And the Federal government must “reinvest a much greater share of the billions of dollars we pay in fuel taxes every year,” Daly said.

Earlier this year, the Bracks Government announced a $1.5 billion package to improve regional roads and a $600 million program to cut black spots.

RACV's report, Safer Roads Save Lives – Star ratings for Victoria's Country Highways , is available at racv.com.au