Transport Department, Adelaide University study calls for lower limits on one-star roads

South Australia needs to lower its speed limits and get to work upgrading some of the state’s most dangerous one-star roads, experts say.

A Transport Department-funded university study has found most fatal and serious crashes happen on the state’s most dangerous one-star roads.

The surprise Adelaide University study released this week, found lower speed limits and better South Australia roads would save the most lives.

“Half of the crashes occurred on one-star roads, suggesting that there could be considerable gains to be made through road infrastructure improvements in South Australia, or reductions in speed limits to compensate for the lack of safety features,” it found.

“In a substantial proportion of cases, the noncompliance was related to high speed roads with insufficient protection of roadside hazards.”

Experts used coronial and investigation information from 241 fatal and serious injury crashes, and found: “In a substantial proportion of cases, the noncompliance was related to high speed roads with insufficient protection of roadside hazards”.

The RAA, which runs a continual campaign for better roads, has seized on the findings.

“The takeout from this is something we have always been pushing for,” spokesman Charles Mountain said.

“We need to get the network mainly up to a minimum of three stars, because moving from one to three stars halves the likelihood of serious injury or fatal crash.”

The study also found;

NEWER vehicles on SA roads would save lives.

ROADS were only up to scratch in 7 fatal and 13 serious injury cases.

OF the 241 crashes in SA, there were two on 5 five-star roads, 15 on four-star roads, 56 on three-star roads, 45 on two-star roads and 120 on one-star roads.

ONE and two star roads were a factor in 91 per cent and 65 per cent of fatal and serious injury cases.

GOOD drivers were still in 109 or 241 rashes.

The study was published this week by Adelaide University’s world renown Centre for Automotive Safety Research, which often attracts Transport Department funding to conduct arms-length research.

RAA expert Charles Mountain among the markers which highlight the extent of the carnage on the roads. AAP Image/Dean Martin.

The study also found tackling the road toll should not only involve improving driver behaviour because it was less common a cause than other factors.

To stop serious injury crashes the experts found; “a strategy of improving the vehicle fleet and providing more forgiving roads would be far more effective”.

The experts applied to SA crashes a global measure to judge safety. This includes bad driver behaviour, and the star rating of the cars and roads.

Each road for 100m around the crash area was given a star rating based on 78 features, including lane width, median type, traffic flow, speed limits, shoulder width and visibility.

“The analysis of 105 (SA) fatal crashes … revealed that there was not a single crash that involved full compliance with the model,’’ the study found.

“For the 136 serious injury cases, there was only one compliant crash (that passed the global model).”

The most dangerous SA roads were those that did not stop or warn drivers when they went over the centre lines or the road shoulder.