Rating Australia’s roads for safety

The Australian Road Assessment Program (AusRAP) rates roads around Australia, with a speed limit of 90 km/h and above, for their levels of safety. The 21,921km of road is then given a star rating from one to five and the results have been published by the Australian Automobile Association.

Roads got a higher rating if they included design elements such as dual-lane divided highways, good line marking and wide lanes. If the highway consisted of single lanes, was undivided with poor line marking with hazards like trees, poles and steep embankments close to the side of the road, it was given a lower rating.

No stretch of highway in the country was given a 5-Star rating and only eight per cent of the nation's roads received a 4-Star assessment. 53 per cent of roads were rated at 3-Star, with 30 per cent making 2-Star and nine percent given just 1-Star.

The ACT managed the highest level of overall ratings but only has 16.9 km of highway eligible to be rated. On the other hand, Queensland had the most rateable highway, at 5,108.5 km, and still managed to have 69 per cent of the state's roads rated at 3-Star or above. This is compared to just 48 per cent of NSW highway being judged to be 3-Star or better.

Northern Territory and Tasmania rated the lowest with 29 per cent of NT roads given a 1-Star rating and 20 per cent of those in Tasmania also getting the lowest score. South Australia, also with a large number of remote roads, has 14  per cent of its road rated at 1-Star. Victoria, Queensland and Western Australia attain a good minimum standard of safety on their roads with less than five per cent of their roads rated in the 1-Star band.

The AAA are using the AusRAP analysis to demonstrate the need for a comprehensive investment program to improve safety and reduce fatalities on our highways. The report reckons an investment of $4.7 billion would produce a situation where 85 per cent of the national highway network would be able to achieve a rating of 3-Star or above.

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