The Northern Territory has the most dangerous road network in the country, a report reveals
By Ruza Zivkusic-Aftasi | July 25, 2013
The Northern Territory has the most dangerous road network in the country, a report reveals.
The report from the Australian Road Assessment Program (AusRAP), conducted by the Australian Automobile Association (AAA) and national automobile clubs, shows the Territory has the least-safest roads.
AusRAP rated roads across the country on a scale of one to five based on how safe they were. None of the Territory’s roads received five stars.
Over 60 percent of the Stuart Highway, which forms the majority of the Territory’s network, is poorly rated, while the report says more than 90 percent of Victoria Highway deteriorating.
Next on the list is Tasmania, with two-thirds of the 366km network receiving a poor rating, with the Bass and Midland highway listed as the most critical.
Like the Territory, none of Tasmania’s roads received five stars.
South Australia was the third on the list with most one-star rated roads (14 percent), followed by New South Wales (9 percent), Western Australia (5 percent), Queensland and Victoria (both 1 percent). The Australia Capital Territory did not have any one-star rated roads.
Victoria’s Princes Freeway was rated the safest road but the State’s regional roads failed to come up to scratch, with 24 percent of the network obtaining a one or two star rating.
Some 21,900km of the country’s highways were surveyed for the first time in a bid to draw governments’ attention for funding.
Features such as roadside barriers, shoulder strips, skid resistance and turning lanes were measured.
There were 1,300 people killed and more than 30,000 hospitalised last year across the country due to road crashes.
Roads were classified from one safety star (least safe) to five safety stars (most safe) based on inherent safety features.
The report says a total of $9.3 billion is needed to eradicate dangerous sections of the national highway network in Australia.