Nov2013_Dayboro Rd . . . . Accidents waiting to happen

With the good fortune I had in my crash ten years ago, and all the emergency workers and medical staff that rescued me, I feel obligated and privileged to try to make a difference for mitigating crash scenarios whenever I find one.  I found several future crash scenarios on Dayboro Road on the 27th September.

I have a vast experience both on two wheels and four.  Just last year, I rode 28,180 kilometres on my Australian registered motorcycle during three months in Europe through 22 countries and most of Europe’s largest cities.  I’ve covered over 400,000 kms in Australia and New Zealand including all major cities.

In my experience, crashes are mainly caused by several factors coming together in a scenario.  Whilst speed, vehicle condition, its features, drivers skills, being sober, driver concentration, experience, etc. make up the other parts and are all mainly only influences on the outcome of a crash scenario.  The start of the crash scenario are critical unfortunate parameters that coincide, like traffic volume, oncoming traffic, obscured vision, etc.  The lucky survive and recognise the scenarios, which may help them next time to, for, instance slow down, react sooner and manoeuvre or position their vehicle to reduce the crash risk in a scenario.

A significant portion of the scenario coming to pass is driver behaviour, another are the road rules and road design in that local situation.  This type of thinking of looking and acting on cause and effect after crashes has been the approach in air safety investigations and regulations for many decades, not always so for roads.

Dayboro Road, after sprawl and freight pressures, appears to have enjoyed a significant traffic growth.  It does not appear to have any safer characteristics than say D’Aguilar Highway, despite this, most parts still have the same posted speed as a 6 lane freeway:  100kph.

Significant parts of the road are both windy and undulating, or both, with no useful shoulder.  Double centre lines are very common for many kilometres at a time.  Despite the double centre lines, there were more than a dozen right hand turns where the double centre lines were broken, “allowing” very risky right hand turns into both properties and adjoining roads.  Only some of these locations have intersection warning signs.  Many of these right hand turns are in the middle of a sweeping turn or crest of a hill or both, requiring vehicles sometimes to stop in the middle of the bend or before the top of a hill.

Travelling on Friday 27/9, I immediately identified a crash scenario location as I saw a 4WD stop in the middle of the road to turn right in a bend and slight downhill section, with following traffic trying to negotiate his manoeuvre.  With apprehension, I discussed this with my wife, stopped and took a photo.  With thirty five years as a professional analyst, I focus on cause, effect, and problem solving.

My own near fatal crash scenario 10 years ago, placed me in coma and intensive care for a month.  A stationary car in the middle of the road was obscured by a van travelling at my speed 3 car lengths in front of me.  At the last second the van, just in front of me, veered to the left onto the dirt shoulder, passing the stationary vehicle which suddenly appeared.  After reaction time and action, at 100 kph I had less than a second and a half to manoeuvre.  Given my lane position, I tried to veer right, just as the car turned right.  You need to fully imagine the scenario to appreciate it.

Back to Dayboro Road; the next morning, i.e. on Saturday, we approached the same site, but were held up for 5 minutes because of a crash at that very site.

N.B. The concern for this location, photographing it and to documenting it, was made already on Friday, before this crash!  It’s the same type of incident Tony Abbott experienced during the 2010 election campaign.

At work, we get the news clips every day, many containing crashes on both state roads and other roads.  With the painful trauma I lived through, being conscious during the whole helicopter transport, I cannot accept being reminded about similar crashes on the Dayboro Road, without having passed on my concerns and then start collecting the TMR news clips on future crashes along this road.  As I said, the road has many more such scenario locations, some with pronounced hill and curve combinations.  

(Refer to the digital edition download for the photos and further explanations of Michael’s potential accident locations. Ed.)

Regards 

Michael Ahlberg,