McArthur blames tourists for Great Ocean Road accidents

Ms McArthur has debated this topic several times, and recently stated on her Facebook page she was frustrated by what she perceived as the Labor government’s denial of a serious issue.

“With numerous examples of overseas visitors getting behind the wheel with little or no experience of our road rules or driving conditions, the number of serious car accidents occurring on the Great Ocean Road is no surprise.

“On five occasions I’ve asked the state government in Parliament to address this issue by implementing driver testing at airports or by holding hire car companies to account for hiring cars out to unqualified drivers.”

On one of these occasions last year, Premier Daniel Andrews questioned the veracity of McArthur’s claims.

“With the greatest of ­respect to Bev McArthur, I take my advice on road safety matters from the experts, and for all her many talents, I don’t think Bev McArthur would be regarded as a road safety ­expert.

“I think some of her comments were bordering on being culturally inappropriate.”

In the year ending March 2019 there were 6.1 million tourists who travelled upon the Great Ocean Road. The majority of crashes still involved Victorian drivers, with international drivers only involved in about a fifth of accidents that ambulances are called to.

In 2018, then Liberal Corangamite federal member Sarah Henderson voiced similar concerns about international drivers.

Centre for Road Safety executive director Bernard Carlon responded to Ms Henderson by stating that foreign drivers factored into a relatively small amount of accidents.

“The international drivers who visit here in hire cars, actually don’t figure significantly in our road toll and that hasn’t changed over the last few years.”

The regulations on tourists driving in Australia while on holiday are the same nationwide.