Potholes and poor road condition were the top issues identified but the respondents in Victoria, with an overwhelming 64 per cent of participants identifying these as the primary safety issue; up from 46 per cent in a similar survey conducted in 2021.
The RACV says that potholes are a major safety risk for drivers as they try and avoid damaging their vehicles. Swerving to avoid a pothole at the last moment is dangerous as drivers may lose control of their vehicles or swerve into oncoming traffic.
The Victorian auto club identified the Melba Highway from Coldstream to Yea, just to the east of the Melbourne metropolitan area, received the most responses regarding safety concerns. This was followed by the Tylden-Woodend Road from Woodend to Tylden, Kilmore Road from Monegeetta to Gisborne, and the Goulburn Valley Highway from Nagambie to Shepparton.
The most dangerous intersection in regional Victoria was identified as the junction of the Midland Highway and Howard Street in Epsom, north of Bendigo.
Overall, 14 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, highlighting that many Victorians believe reducing the speed on highly dangerous roads is an appropriate approach.
RACV says it will use the data from the survey to encourage the state government and local councils to make commitments that deliver safer regional roads.
RACV head of policy, James Williams, said the data from the survey indicated that the condition of regional roads has become a major safety concern for Victorians.
“Over 7,000 Victorians have provided us with data about safety on our regional roads, with potholes or poor road condition being the number one safety issue,” Williams said.
“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.
“The number of responses received is a strong indicator that Victorians are concerned about safety on regional roads and are calling for urgent improvement.
“Sixty per cent of survey participants think that improving road surfaces should be the priority road safety solution.
“While in 2021, dangerous driver behaviour was the biggest safety concern on regional roads, this year poor road conditions received more than double the number of responses as dangerous driver behaviour.
“Fifty-eight per cent of the survey participants told us that they use the road they identified every day, and that level of local knowledge has been invaluable to identifying Victoria’s most unsafe roads.
“Six of the top roads identified in the 2021 survey appear again this year, including the Melba Highway, Bass Highway, Bacchus Marsh Road, Phillip Island Road, Warburton Highway, and the junction of the Midland Highway and Howard Street in Epsom.
“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.”
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 per hour or higher where there have 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. Participants were also welcome to nominate another road in regional Victoria that they felt posed a risk to drivers.
The RACV says its ‘My Country Road’ survey was also an opportunity for participants to let it know what they think of electric vehicles (EVs), and barriers to uptake.
The results showed 36 per cent of participants have considered buying an EV. while seven per cent of the survey participants are current EV owners.
“The top two reasons participants gave for deciding not to drive an EV were that they are currently too expensive to purchase and the limited battery range,” Williams said.
“Regional Victorians have a preference for more charging stations at service stations and rest stops.”
The number of responses to the 2024 My Country Road survey increased by more than 75 per cent from the 4,000 responses to the 2021 survey.
My Country Road forms part of the Have Your Say survey series which, together with My Melbourne Road and My Home, helps RACV to continue to advocate for Victorians on the issues that are most important to them.
The full results of the My Country Road survey are available at racv.com.au/haveyoursay
