Rural highways will get flexible safety barriers

TWENTY regional roads on which nearly 100 Victorians have died in the last five years will be lined with protective barriers as part of a new ­$1 billion road safety strategy.

TWENTY regional roads on which nearly 100 Victorians have died in the last five years will be lined with protective barriers as part of a new ­$1 billion road safety strategy.

The Sunday Herald Sun can reveal that the Andrews Government will today announce a bold bid to cut Victoria’s road toll to below 200 by 2020.

The government will spend $340 million fixing the state’s worst blackspots, installing 330km of flexible barriers along highways which could reduce head-on crashes and cars running off roads by 85 per cent.

The $1 billion road safety ­investment also includes:

PLANS to create a world-first roadside fatigue test with an $850,000 pilot scheme;

ANOTHER $60 million to fix dangerous roads in metropolitan Melbourne;

A $146 MILLION package of safe driving programs, education courses and mentoring for young drivers.

Premier Daniel Andrews said the new Towards Zero 2016-2020 campaign was a much-needed “radical change in our approach”.

“Road trauma has taken too many lives, and left too many families heartbroken,” he said.

“There will never be an ­acceptable number of deaths on our roads. But an ambitious target and an aggressive strategy will help save lives.”

Victorians are four times more likely to die on country roads, an alarming statistic that prompted the focus on ­regional areas.

The 20 roads stretching 2500km given priority by the Andrews Government include Hume Freeway/Highway, Calder Freeway and Geelong-Bacchus Marsh Rd, where 42 have died in the last five years.

Another 358 people were seriously injured in crashes on those three roads.

Wire-line barriers along the centre of some roads will be installed after a successful trial on the Melba Highway, while rumble strips and flexible roadside barriers will also be put in place. Additional measures will protect motorcyclists on popular routes.

The Great Ocean Road, Princes Freeway and Western Freeway are among the other roads prioritised for upgrades.

The government will also try to develop an effective roadside test to detect tired drivers. It plans to review international attempts at developing such a test, including a German effort which aimed to link the movement of a person’s pupil to their level of fatigue. Trials of prototype devices to examine drivers would be sought.

Road Safety Minister Luke Donnellan said reducing the road toll below 200 was the “most ambitious target” in state history. The government also aims to cut serious road injuries by 15 per cent after 4951 people were seriously hurt in 2014/15.

“We’ve come a long way but we won’t continue to see a reduction in deaths and serious injuries without a fundamental change to our approach,” Mr Donnellan said.

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EDITORIAL, PAGE 70