Bruce Hwy has eight of Qld’s top 10 crash hotspots: AAMI report

Eight of the 10 worst crash hotspots in all of Queensland are located on the Bruce Highway, new analysis of thousands of smashes has revealed. SEE THE MAP

A two-vehicle crash on the Bruce Highway in Central Queensland in 2022

Eight of the 10 worst crash hotspots in all of Queensland are located on the Bruce Highway, new analysis of thousands of smashes has revealed.

The data has prompted calls from road safety experts for urgent action to fix the Bruce, warning Queensland’s biggest carriageway is decades behind major highways in other states.

AAMI’s Decade of Driving Report shows the top 10 most common locations for crashes in Queensland were along the Bruce Highway near Rockhampton, Gympie, Mackay, Townsville, Caboolture, Bowen, Proserpine and Gin Gin.

The only two crash hotspots in the top 10 not on the Bruce Highway were in Brisbane: Gympie Road at Chermside and Logan Road at Mount Gravatt.

The report analysed 10 years of data from insurance providers AAMI, Suncorp Insurance, GIO, Apia and Bingle, which together cover about one in four Australian motorists, with 11,000 claims for Bruce Highway crashes made to those businesses alone.

AAMI Motor Claims manager Leah James said the Bruce Highway was notoriously dangerous from Brisbane to Far North Queensland.

“There are unfortunately no quick and easy fixes for the issues facing the Bruce Highway, with our new data only reinforcing the need for long-term investment in infrastructure upgrades and maintenance,” she said.

“We support calls for increasing the ongoing investment into this notorious stretch of road, so that hopefully we can change the stats and make the Bruce safer for everyone.”

The Bruce Highway accounts for eight of Queensland's top 10 crash zones.

More than 134 people have been killed in crashes on the Bruce Highway in the four years to December, and more than 20 people have already died on the road this year.

The latest set of data has sparked fury from families who have lost loved ones on the road, with one grieving widow vowing to campaign for change.

Betty Stuart lost her husband Daniel, 50, on the highway at Maryborough, when a car failed to give way, causing two trucks to collide.

Three people including Mr Stuart were killed in the crash in March this year.

“We’re going to fight to get that motorway fixed, we’re going to fight to get it done as soon as possible,” Mrs Stuart said.

“Who cares if it costs millions to put another lane in, They’re not losing lives and their families.

“Someone’s got to stand up for those that have been killed. I’m going to stand up for those that have been killed.”

Ms Stuart said she had never travelled the Bruce until her husband died and she hoped it would be the last time, saying she had banned her children from travelling on the highway.

“That road going up was crap, it was the worst road to travel on, we were travelling in the rain and we couldn’t see the lines on the side of the road. It was shocking,” she said.

“I won’t go up there, I wont go past there for the fear someone’s going to go around the corner and you could be the next victim.”

Australasian College of Road Safety chief executive Ingrid Johnston said the Bruce today was reflective of the poor state of the Pacific Highway two decades ago.

“Where it had become just so notoriously dangerous for long sections, busy sections, that it developed a whole campaign to be able to get action to finally, to kind of upgrade it, and it took a really long time to happen,” she said.

“And it feels to me like that’s what’s happening with the Bruce Highway as well, that this issue is clearly not crept up overnight.

“It’s clearly an issue that’s been around for a while, and people have just got fed up with it, because it is just too unsafe. Too many people are dying on the one particular road.”

Dr Johnston said the highway either needed to have the speed limit reduced or be upgraded to include safety measures such as dual carriageways and separated median barriers.

“You can’t just do nothing. It’s not going to just magically become safer on its own,” she said.

“And so when you’re talking about a really long stretch of road like this, there needs to be a concerted kind of strategy and funding strategy to be able to get those infrastructure upgrades done over time, and the speed limits have to be reduced in the meantime.”

A Greyhound bus crash at Gumlu in Far North Queensland claimed three lives.

The Courier-Mail’s Help Our Highway campaign, launched in April, revealed almost half the Bruce Highway failed basic safety ratings and just 10 per cent was assessed as extremely safe, with stretches in regional Queensland emerging as the worst danger zones.

“It’s clear that the Bruce Highway is rated very lowly for long stretches,” Dr Johnston said.

“And we need to be working towards making sure that we don’t have, you know, significant national highway routes that are below three star.”

Transport and Main Roads Minister Bart Mellish said state government was delivering the most comprehensive road and transport upgrade program in the state’s history, including significant investment on the Bruce.

“The 2024 state budget mapped out $37.4bn in planned investments, including $22bn in new and improved roads,” he said.

“That’s delivering projects like the Coomera Connector, Rockhampton Ring Road and major Bruce Highway safety upgrades between Brisbane and Cairns.”