Deteriorating road causes Bartlett family roll-over

An East Gippsland family’s terrifying car roll-over highlights the urgent need for rural road maintenance, as Victoria’s country road toll continues to climb.

The Bartlett family is lucky to be alive after their vehicle rolled after hitting a dodgy patch of road at Buchan.

A Lindenow farming family’s recent brush with near-tragedy has reignited concerns over the deteriorating condition of Victoria’s rural road network.

The Bartlett family narrowly escaped serious injury when their vehicle rolled multiple times on Buchan Road in East Gippsland, an incident they attribute to poor road maintenance.

Learner driver Layla Bartlett, 16, was behind the wheel with her mother Terese in the passenger seat and father Steve and brother Blake, 18, in the back.

The family was en route to a local football and netball match when disaster struck.

“The edge of the bitumen crumbled underneath our tyre,” Terese said.

“It caught the tyre and flung us into the path of oncoming traffic, including a cattle truck.”

Layla’s inexperience, combined with the road’s condition, led to the vehicle rolling at least three times.

More dmaage to the car.

Miraculously, all family members walked away without serious injuries.

Leading Senior Constable Ray Moreland of Buchan Police confirmed that the road’s poor condition was a significant factor in the accident.

“The bitumen crumbled and it put her into the gravel leading to the accident,” he said.

This incident highlights a growing concern for rural road safety in Victoria.

Transport Accident Commission data shows that 75 lives have been lost on rural roads so far in 2025, a 17 per cent increase from the previous year.

Despite this alarming trend, the Victorian Government’s latest budget allocates maintenance to just 1.6 per cent of the state’s regional road network.

“If the roads were in better condition and the edges fixed properly, this accident may have been avoided,” Terese said.

“We were very fortunate - four lives could have been lost that day and the severity of that is enough for me to speak up and be an advocate - the roads are terrible, dangerous.

“The government takes so much money from us in the regions but not a cent is spent here. 

“Our kids can’t catch free public transport out here to play their sport, there is no public transport.

“We have no choice but to drive and we should be able to do that on safer roads.”