Victoria’s broken roads “frustrating”, potentially causing collisions, says top cop

Damaged roads are being investigated as a potential contributing factor to at least two recent fatal road accidents, according to a Victoria Police assistant commissioner.

Badly damaged roads are being investigated as a possible factor in several recent road crashes across Victoria, including two fatal accidents, according to the state’s top roads police officer.

Victoria Police assistant commissioner, road policing command, Glenn Weir said officers were “constantly” alerting road authorities to the parlous condition of Victoria’s road network.

“We are (aware of safety issues with potholes), we are always seeing reports of collisions, and we are investigating a couple of serious ones where the road infrastructure is part of the investigation,” he told 3AW on Friday morning.

“We are constantly notifying Rural Roads Victoria or VicRoads or local council depending on which road it is.

“It is frustrating, we have had extreme weather, we have had a whole range of things that our friends at Infrastructure are telling us that are impacting, but it is always part of our investigation.

Victoria Police Assistant Commissioner Glenn Weir. Picture: Andrew Henshaw

“Whether it is a minor collision where no one is really injured or, at the worst, a fatality, road infrastructure is something that we pay a significant amount of time looking into.

“I have been doing this over 40 years and I have been to a lot of fatal collisions (and), whether it is a pothole, road conditions on our large road network are always something we look at.”

In response to whether any of the accidents currently being investigated were fatals, Weir said: “Yeah, they are.”

In one of those accidents, a motorcyclist died on New Year’s Eve in Kaarimba, north of Shepparton, “when her bike struck a pothole and lost control,” according to a Victoria Police spokesperson.

The other accident occurred on January 7 when a female motorcyclist crashed into a tree on Big Tower Road in Darramin, between Traralgon and Sale in the state’s east.

Meanwhile, Regional Roads Victoria’s chief Paul Northey yesterday said there was a shortfall in the money available to repair regional roads with major flooding late last year a key contributing factor.

Regional Roads Victoria boss Paul Northey. Picture: Andy Rogers

“There is no doubt we will have to look at what additional dollars we will need in terms of recovery and getting the rebuilding program going after all the damage the floods have caused,” he said.

“I’m expecting it will be significant dollars we will be requiring over the next few years.”

Road crews have so far filled about 120,000 potholes caused by flooding and extreme wet weather last year.

A Department of Transport spokesperson earlier this month said those potholes were additional to planned annual maintenance, and that the government expects at least 200,000 more potholes to be filled this financial year.

“This blitz is ensuring that the towns hit hardest by flooding remain connected to vital supplies and services – now we’re also turning our attention towards the first stage of longer-term, larger-scale repairs,” he said.

According to Department of Transport annual reports, more than 470,000 potholes were filled on regional Victorian roads over the past two financial years,

Victorian Freight Specialists director of operations Chris Collins, who has been with the company for 24 years., last month told The Weekly Times that he believed Victoria’s regional roads had never been less safe than in their current condition.

Melbourne Potholes: Quality Drive, Dandenong South. Pothole.