Member for Western Victoria, Gayle Tierney today announced $1.3 million in funding for a road safety improvement project on Camperdown-Lismore Road between Camperdown and Kariah.
The funding will be used to provide shoulder sealing, safety barriers, improved line markings and hazard removal. These works are planned to improve safety and reduce run off road crashes.
The project is part of the Bracks Government’s $172.3 million arrive alive! Safer Roads Program, funded by the TAC. The Safer Roads Program is central to the Government’s ongoing commitment to improving safety and conditions for road users across Victoria.
Ms Tierney said this stretch of road had a history of run off road crashes.
“Run off the road crashes are where a motorist loses control of their vehicle and runs off the road into trees and other objects on the roadside,” Ms Tierney said.
“They represent a substantial proportion of the road toll, particularly in rural areas.
“They are the silent killers on our regional roads and in the past five years 48 per cent of fatal, and 46 per cent of serious injury crashes, have involved vehicles coming off the road.
“In the last five years there have been five serious crashes on this section of Camperdown-Lismore Road where people have been injured.
“These works will improve safety along this important stretch of road and reduce the number of crashes.”
The arrive alive! Safer Roads Infrastructure Program is a Victorian Government initiative funded by the Transport Accident Commission to reduce Victoria’s road toll.
The program targets locations across Victoria with an emphasis on rural and outer metropolitan areas where there is a disproportionately higher rate of serious injury and fatality crashes.
“The program is this year spending $172 million on road improvements, building on the $240 million program invested since 2005/06,” Ms Tierney said.
“That is $410 million from this program alone, making it the first program of this size in Australia to significantly address the cause of crashes on rural and outer suburban roads.”
Ms Tierney said the Bracks Government’s arrive alive! road safety strategy is working.
“Victoria has made significant gains in road safety since the strategy was launched in 2002,” she said.
“We have recorded the four lowest road tolls over the past four years, treated over 1500 accident blackspots and invested more than half a billion dollars on road safety specific infrastructure improvements.
“Victoria leads the way in Australia in reducing road trauma and we want to continue to improve road safety for all Victorians,” Ms Tierney said.
