Australia’s most dangerous roads: Full list of the worst roads
Many are littered with potholes, others are prone to pile-ups – but some of Australia’s worst roads can deliver far worse consequences. SEE THE MAP
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Many are littered with potholes, others are prone to pile-ups – but some of Australia’s worst roads can deliver far worse consequences.
From dangerous highways in the Northern Territory to traffic jams in Victoria, these are the roads judged to be the worst across the country.
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Jump to your state: NSW | Qld | Vic | NT | SA | Tas | WA
NSW
The worst roads in NSW were named and shamed in March 2023 after almost 30,000 people voted to rank them on their condition, congestion and safety.
Pothole-ridden and car-clogged Parramatta Road at Auburn was rated the worst because of its condition and congestion, drawing almost 500 votes.
The NRMA’s Rate Your Roads survey was launched at the end of 2022 and received a record response of almost 30,000 votes from angry motorists.
NRMA spokesman Peter Khoury said the data will be used to identify problem roads and lobby the Federal Government for more funding.
“Today we release the results of this record-breaking transport survey and will spend the next four years ensuring this data helps drive sensible funding and policy outcomes across all levels of Government,” Mr Khoury said.
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QUEENSLAND
The Bruce Highway was in September 2023 declared the state’s most dangerous road, keeping its title from earlier in the year.
The stretch of highway from Southeast Queensland to Far North Queensland had previously called out the most in the RACQ’s Unroadworthy Roads list 2022.
Insurer AAMI’s annual crash index in September 2023 topped the list as the worst crash spot in several regional areas, including Gladstone, Gympie, Rockhampton, Mackay the Sunshine Coast and Townsville.
In November 2023 it was revealed almost half the Bruce Highway has a two-star safety rating or less.
The 10 crash hotspots in Brisbane were also named and shamed.
RACQ head of public policy, Michael Kane, said the results highlighted problems on 556 different roads compiled from more than 1560 nominations.
“Even with significant amounts of funding being directed to the Bruce Highway over many years, recent rain and flooding, combined with heavy traffic, has resulted in potholes and other surface damage,” Dr Kane said.
Kin Kin Road and Maroochydore Road on the Sunshine Coast also received a large number of votes as being among the most unroadworthy.
As of April 2023 a 48km stretch of South East Queensland motorway had a staggering 152 serious crashes that caused 180 fatalities or hospitalisations in just three years.
New data from the Department of Transport and Main Roads listed the state’s top 23 one-kilometre road sections with the greatest number of serious crashes.
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VICTORIA
In September 2023 a notorious road in Melbourne’s north east was named Australia’s most dangerous crash hotspot for a sixth year in a row.
The annual AAMI Crash Index, which analysed more than 350,000 motor insurance claims across the country between July 1 2022 and June 30 2023, has again identified Plenty Rd in Bundoora as the nation’s biggest crash site.
Meanwhile a chaotic roundabout in Melbourne’s northwest was in April 2023 identified by motorists as one of the city’s most dangerous intersections.
The Essendon North junction where Keilor, Bulla, Mt Alexander and Lincoln roads all meet is of serious concern, according to driver feedback from an RACV study.
The large roundabout also has two sets of tram tracks and two slip lanes. It has been a constant source of frustration for drivers, prompting reviews in recent years by VicRoads and Moonee Valley Council.
The location was one of the worst three intersections named in the interim findings from the RACV My Melbourne Road online survey.
The other danger junctions were the corner of Liardet and Bay Sts in Port Melbourne and the roundabout where Loyola Grove and Twickenham Crescent meet in Burnley.
In 2021 the RACV My Country Road survey asked 4000 people to give feedback on which of the state’s roads need urgent improvements.
The Princes Highway from Stratford to Bairnsdale in the East Gippsland area received the most responses, followed by The Deans Marsh-Lorne Road in Benwerrin, Surf Coast.
In August 2023, 15 of Victoria’s worst roads were named and shamed - with regional roads in such shocking disrepair and funding so limited that the government was forced to slash $120m from its road resurfacing budget to focus on urgent works.
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NORTHERN TERRITORY
NT Police in July 2022 warned drivers to stay vigilant after the Automobile Association of the NT revealed the riskiest roads in the Territory.
An expected inclusion on the list was the Stuart Hwy, with other major highways also featuring.
“In Central Australia, motorists may face additional challenges such as distance, long stretches of unsealed roads, flash flooding, wildlife and wandering stock,” an NT Police spokeswoman said.
AANT released the findings of its first ever Risky Roads survey along with plenty of data on NT roads.
Almost 400 people were surveyed in October 2021, with Stuart Highway among those deemed dangerous for drivers.
At least 38 crashes occurred on the highway between January 1, 2016 and December 21, 2020, with 48 per cent of all crashes being a result of driver negligence.
With 12 casualty crashes overall, the Stuart Hwy was deemed one of the most dangerous roads in outback Australia.
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SOUTH AUSTRALIA
A notorious 200km stretch of highway in the state’s north recorded almost 50 fatalities in the past five years, giving it the undesirable crown of SA’s most dangerous road.
The Augusta Highway – between Port Wakefield and Port Augusta – is the state’s most dangerous road based on SAPOL statistics, released in March 2023.
It recorded 44 fatalities in the past five years.
Second is the Sturt Highway, which links the Riverland to Adelaide, which has recorded 36 deaths between 2018 and 2022.
Superintendent Bob Gray, the head of SAPOL’s traffic services branch, warned two-thirds of the deaths on SA’s roads so far this year had occurred in country locations.
“This is a concerning statistic and something that all drivers need to be aware of when travelling on regional and rural roads,” he said.
“Research suggests that many country residents mistakenly believe tourists and city people account for most deaths on regional roads.”
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TASMANIA
The state’s worst roads were revealed in 2021 as determined by a survey of thousands of Tasmanians.
RACT’s member survey results, taken from a poll of 5000 motorists, showed Tasmanian drivers voted the Tasman Highway the worst road in the state.
The highway has since been funded for an upgrade, though that has been hit by delays.
“One of the ways to tackle the road safety challenge is to make sure our roads are up to scratch. According to our members, they’re clearly not,” RACT chief member experience officer Stacey Pennicott said at the time.
“We asked our 200,000 members to tell us what roads weren’t up to scratch and the results were clear.”
The Midland Highway was rated the second-worst road in the state ahead of Hobart’s Southern Outlet, the Bass Highway and the Channel Highway.
The Arthur, Huon and West Tamar highways were also rated poorly according to the survey respondents.
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WESTERN AUSTRALIA
Bussell Highway, between Busselton and Capel, has long been derided as one of the state’s worst roads, with motorists raising concerns over a lack of overtaking opportunities, narrow lanes and poor traffic separation.
Keirnan Street in Mundijong, the Kwinana Freeway and Canning Highway interchange at Como, and Denny Avenue at Kelmscott have previously been rated the riskiest roads in the metro Perth region.
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