Deadly Stretch of Western Highway Sparks Calls for Safety Upgrades

Twelve people have died on a 66-kilometre stretch of highway between the Victorian towns of Stawell and Horsham in the last six years. The alarming statistic has sparked concerns from residents and authorities about the safety of the Western Highway.

Three people, including a 14-year-old girl, died following a horror crash involving two cars and a truck at Ledcourt, near Dadswells Bridge, on September 27. Emergency services responded to the notorious section of the highway yesterday to attend to a truck crash in Laharum, where a driver lost control and smashed into a tree. The driver was flown to hospital with serious, non-life-threatening injuries.

Some residents who live near the perilous stretch argue the condition of the road is a key factor, while others believe driver distraction is to blame. Dadswells Bridge farmer Ellie McDonald, whose property runs along this stretch, says it is likely a mix of the two.

"It's just getting busier and busier," she said. "We moved here in 2011 and the traffic has increased exponentially. That combination doesn't work well with degrading roads."

Ms McDonald has asked for the speed limit in the area to be reviewed. She described the current situation as being like a "sitting duck" for drivers trying to turn into local businesses.

"Every couple of days I'll hear cars or trucks tooting where a caravan or car has stopped to turn into a local businesses … if you've got vehicles doing 80 kilometres an hour, you almost get rear-ended," she said. "We've so many close calls. You are a sitting duck in the middle of the road if you're trying to turn."

Victoria police Senior Sergeant Mathew Olston said he was aware of a number of recent serious collisions in the area. However, he emphasized that nowhere is immune from road trauma.

"But it is important to make clear the sad reality that nowhere is immune form road trauma," he said. "Anecdotally, fatigue has been a key contributor to some of the fatal collisions on this stretch of road. Some victims have, sadly, been young and inexperienced, with a number of collisions recorded at night."

A committee representing 10 municipalities across Victoria's west said the region had been "neglected". Western Highway Action Committee chairman Rod Ward said the government needed to upgrade and invest in maintaining the road, which he said was Australia’s third-busiest straight route.

"I think the lack of investment in the Western Highway has been a direct cause of some of the accidents," he said.

The committee has recorded 658 fatalities or serious injuries along the Western Highway in the past decade.