20 Years ago the road we condemn was seeing its first true contracted rebuilding.
It was my factory floor, I and my workmates had lived with weekly deaths and trauma that drove good men from their lifetime jobs.
Police left suffering and out of work for life.
Road workers too.
About that time,a long wish, the Oxley Highway main arterial route from the Coats to the new England, saw plans begin
16 years ago stage one of that upgrade began, the Pacific had several big contracts underway.
Stage two, it may be three, planned while John Howard was PM started a few years ago.
The Oxley kills,the Pacific kills, or do they?
Continuing planed in stages, upgrades to the Oxley have been taking place before the local member left state politics to run for the federal seat.
Right now my old factory floor, looks very good in places, a great deal of it is 4 lane divided road.
That new road great road still kills,or does it.
Drivers demand American style roads, but no links to our tax base as compared to theirs is considered.
We fail.
Fail a basic, we do not drive to road conditions, then blame the road.
It is no secret, no fabrication, our most recent reason to blame the road not the driver.
Was bought about not by a truck.
But as reported but not considered in the rush to convict the road, a Ute, driver maybe asleep? on the wrong side of the road.
And a truck, trying desperately to avoid it.
Is the highway a killer, or are drivers?

Belly I think both. The poorest of roads should not be a killer if everyone drives to suit conditions, the poorest of roads does reduce the margin for error.

A road that's well below expected standard for it's usage will increase the likely hood that people will misjudge conditions or not be able to avoid the idiot that's just ignoring the conditions.

R0bert

Belly,
From my obsevations, it seems six of one and half a dozen of the other.

I do not have stats, but I think there are far less accidents on the Hume here now than there used to be and I would be surprized if that were not the case for the reconstructed sections of the Pacific.

Still there are some accidents, as you said drivers fall asleep and so on.

I seem to recall that prior to 1988 bi-centenary we were told by politicians that there would be two lanes each way from Sydney to Melbourne and that did not occur. In fact, such was their spruking at thee time, there would be nothing left to do at all after 1988. Was not there signs reading 3X3 everywhere.

But the pollys found other things to spend money on so it is a matter of political priority where the money goes. I am not happy to see vast ammounts go overseas when the Pacific badly needs upgrading. No doubt other states see similar needs in their state.

Belly it does not answer your question but the following might be of interest
http://www.rta.nsw.gov.au/roadsafety/downloads/dynamic/monthly-accident-data.pdf

also
http://www.rta.nsw.gov.au/roadsafety/downloads/fatality_rate_1908_to_2009.pdf

and
http://www.rta.nsw.gov.au/roadsafety/downloads/crashstats2010.pdf

I wonder if they've plotted crashes geographically over time.

It would be interesting to see if the relevant rates dropped following road upgrades in particular area's. Also interesting to see the impact on rates for sections of road adjacent to upgrades, are people more or less likely to have a crash on a poorer section of road if they've just come off an upgraded road?

R0bert

RObert 22 years of working on it, 10 more looking after road construction workers, I know a bit about it.
We place great expectations us drivers on all roads.
This one more than most,it serves coastal livers and holiday makers.
We leave home at 4 am even earlier, and try to beat the time it took us last time, trucks we share that road with too are playing that game.
South of Woodburn a brand new 4 lane divided road, for a time, killed more than it had as the dreadful road it was, killer highway.
Much brand new road has been constructed, Even before John Howard won office the upgrade has been on.
Early promises of fast completion , unrealistic at least, not enough machinery workers or cash exists to finish it much faster.
Yet drivers want it now, no consideration of costs, we hear about American roads.
Not about those as bad as ours but freeways, 22 million Australians, how many Americans? who pays.
Oxley Highway, in the news just a week ago, two young male hitch hikers killed.
Pleas to fix the road, faster now even.
My area yours too probably is shot, second hand patches on second hand roads falling apart.
Sadly, pressed by conservationists and self interested groups, fix mine now, or quarries owners wanting their gravel used.
Not the free stuff in cuttings and roadside hills, that after removal leave both new rest areas and better roads, using ENOUGH GRAVEL not skimping for cost sake.
Still we blame the road, other drivers, governments, any one but the true person in charge us, drive to survive drive within the condition of the road.
But easier to blame THEM.
Better roads RObert kill less forgive bad driving not change it.

Hi there Belly...

An interesting piece if I may say so. I reckon one of the correspondents herein was correct, when they stated inter alia, it's a combination of both. It's a case of a poor road surface coupled by an inattentive ot careless driver, equals disaster.

And you're correct to assert that many of us would buck if our taxes were significently increased, in order to upgrade or rebuild roads.
So what can we do about it ?

Perhaps if our pollies dedicated the monies already raised by the fuel taxes, totally to road construction, then we may have better or safer roads.

Then we all know that pollies from both sides of politics, tend to sidetrack funds ostensibily meant for roads to other ventures they perceive to be of a higher priority. Or to fund a 'pet' project that may assist them to gain re-election ?

The latter, in my humble opinion may actually get them another term in Parliament - as almost all of us have a vital interest in better and safer roads, I should think.