Intersection the worst: RACV survey

THE Midland Highway and Howard Street intersection in Epsom is the most dangerous in regional Victoria, according to an RACV road safety survey.

Long regarded as notorious for accidents, the intersection has been the object of local debate for several years with nearby business owners calling for upgrades because of growing traffic volumes.

The Epsom Road Safety Group has also been active in the push for improvements.

The RACV’s My Country Road Survey attracted more than 7000 responses from people providing opinions on the safety of regional roads across the state.

Potholes and poor road condition were the top issues identified, with 64 per cent of participants identifying them as the primary safety issue – up from 46 per cent in 2021.

RACV Head of Policy James Williams said six of the top roads identified in the same survey in 2021 appear again this year, including the Epsom intersection.

Concerns about it included general safety, potholes and poor condition of the road, and pedestrian safety issues.

Mr Williams said 16 of the 21 most dangerous roads identified in 2021 had since been upgraded, but still more work was needed to improve safety on regional roads.

Survey data indicated that the condition of regional roads has become a major safety concern for Victorians.

“Sixty per cent of survey participants think that improving road surfaces should be the priority road safety solution,” Mr Williams said.

“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.”

He said 14 per cent of survey responses supported a lower or more appropriate speed limit as a way of improving 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 response,” he said.

The RACV will use the survey data to lobby the State Government and local councils to commit to safety improvements on regional roads.