Moorabool roads are among the most dangerous stretches across the state and continue to be over-represented in road trauma statistics, new Transport Accident Commission data has revealed.
Of the 29 fatalities across the Grampians region, which includes Moorabool, 15 were single-vehicle collisions which occurred on the roadside and nine people died in head-on crashes.
Ballarat has the region’s highest death toll with seven fatalities in the past year, while six lives were lost on Moorabool roads.
Road runoffs accounted for the bulk of fatalities in every region of the state.
TAC chief executive Joe Calafiore said in a statement that the trend highlighted the importance of building a road system which was more forgiving on driver error.
“We know most people are doing the right thing, and the majority of journeys on roads in the Grampians are safe ones, however, every death on our roads is an unacceptable and preventable tragedy,” Mr Calafiore said.
The data comes as the state government rolls out its more than $1.1 billion road safety package over the next five years.
It includes constructing more than 2000 kilometres of wire road barriers along some of the state’s most dangerous stretches of country road including the Midland Highway between Ballarat and Creswick.
Roads and road safety minister Luke Donnellan said drivers on country roads were four times more likely to be killed than drivers in the city.
“It’s simply unacceptable – that’s why we’re investing more than $1 billion to make our country roads safer,” he said.
“We’re investing in the things we know save lives on country roads, rolling out more than 2000 kilometres of flexible safety barriers, thousands of kilometres of rumble strips as well as new turning and overtaking lanes.”
