Mapped: The Adelaide Hills’ deadliest roads

Twenty-two people have died in more than 1500 Hills crashes since 2015, prompting calls from locals for an upgrade of the most dangerous roads. Explore our map here.

Birdwood residents are calling for a major upgrade of Torrens Valley Road following years of serious crashes along the busy Hills thoroughfare.

A total of 131 vehicle crashes have been recorded along the road between 2015 and 2019, equating to around one serious accident every 11 days.

The high casualty rate has seen the road named as one of the most dangerous in the RAA’s regional road assessment report, which includes 26 other black spots across the Hills.

Birdwood resident Arthur Tucker said the figures were startling and highlighted that more needed to be done to improve road safety.

He said he was doing his bit by lobbying his local member John Gardner and the Adelaide Hills Council via a petition to help reduce the speed limit.

His particular concern is for a 3km stretch from the Birdwood town boundary to the Randell Road junction which still carries a 100km/h. This is despite Torrens Valley Road already being downgraded to 80km/h from Randell Road to Mount Pleasant.

“It should be 80km/h the entire stretch. 100km/h is too much as there are too many bends on this road and people like to speed along here,” Mr Tucker said.

“I’m aware of a number of fatalities which have occurred on this road and I don’t want to see more.

“We also have a lot of older people living on this road, so speed and poor visibility is an issue.”

His neighbour Trevor Carter has also backed the call for action.

“Since we’ve lived here, there have been 13 cars that have gone through our bottom fence...and of course no one stays to help and fix it,” he said.

“But the worst part is that when they crash at night, the cattle get out on the road and that causes a road safety issue in itself.

“So getting the speed limit reduced would be a good idea but it needs to be policed.”

Birdwood locals Trevor Carter and Arthur Tucker want the speed on a dangerous section of Torrens Valley Road reduced to 80km/h. Picture: Emma Brasier

The RAA’s Senior Manager for Safety and Infrastructure Charles Mountain said crash figures across the Hills were alarming.

According to the regional road assessment, 1360 crashes were recorded across 27 roads between 2015 and 2019 – 22 of which were fatalities.

The most common crash type was vehicles hitting fixed objects and primarily involved a single vehicle and an object on the roadside with common examples including trees, posts and safety barriers.

“There’s always opportunity to do more but the report has been well received by the road authorities and the local government agencies,” Mr Mountain said.

“The next step for us is to see which of the recommendations are being progressively implemented and how much of it is being done or not done.”

Member for Morialta John Gardner said he was in support of a review of Torrens Valley Road, which was also backed by the Adelaide Hills council last night.

Councillors voted to adopt a recommendation to write to the Minister Transport to change the speed limit as requested.

“This issue has understandably provoked discussion in the local community and I have appreciated the feedback I have received from a number of local constituents,” Mr Gardner said.

“I will certainly be eager to facilitate the consideration of a request for a review if it is backed by the local elected councillors.”

Police appeal to Hills drivers to remember the consequences

Dangerous driving has also been flagged by SA police who have encountered “startling behaviours” as part of Operation Safe Hills.

The campaign, which launched on October l and ends on April 26, has so far caught 2034 drivers breaking the law, with 1663 of them being cars and 371 being motorcycles.

Twenty-five cars and 32 motorcycles have been detected travelling in excess of 30km/h over the speed limit.

Fifteen cars and 29 motorcycles have been detected travelling in excess of 40km/h over the speed limit.

Superintendent Bob Gray, Officer in Charge Traffic Services Branch said drivers and riders who choose to ignore speed limits were knowingly putting their lives at risk.

“There is absolutely no excuse for this behaviour,” Supt Gray said.

“The potential consequences of these choices are clear to every person. If you choose to drive or ride dangerously you are risking catastrophic impacts on your own life, on your family’s life, on your community and on emergency services personnel.”