A new report has confirmed what many motorists in Melbourne probably already know: the city’s Plenty Road is Australia’s most dangerous.
The road in Melbourne’s Bundoora suburb received the dubious honour from national insurer AAMI, which recently released its 2019 crash index. The report revealed the country’s worst car crash locations – with a whopping nine of the top 10 hotspots located in Melbourne.
“Plenty Road in Bundoora has several lanes of traffic in both directions and feeds into many other major roads in Melbourne,” said Anna Cartwright, head of motor claims at AAMI. “The busy stretch of road is home to multiple traffic lights, entry and exit points, two main universities and a tram line in the middle, again making it the nation’s worst contender for car crashes in the last financial year.”
Meanwhile, Springvale Road at both Glen Waverley and Springvale in Melbourne’s east took out second and third place on the index.
“Springvale Road is no stranger to the spotlight, the location at Glen Waverley has been one of the worst spots for collisions, since first topping our list seven years ago,” said Cartwright. “With the southern stretch of Springvale Road at Springvale now coming in at number three on our list, what hope do local drivers have?”
Not to be outdone, Sydney also featured in the national list, with the Hume Highway in Liverpool in Sydney’s southwest coming in at number four on AAMI’s Crash Index.
“These hot spots are generally busy major arterial roads, that intersect with local streets,” said Cartwright. “When you combine this with heavy traffic and frequent stopping, it is a perfect recipe for vehicle collisions.”
Phil Slade, behavioural economist at AAMI, said that frustration, impatience and road rage all contribute to vehicle collisions.
“If you’re running late, or if something or someone gets in your way or blocks your journey, even if it has no material impact on how quickly you’ll actually arrive at your destination, it’s your reactive self that tends to take control of your car, which makes it more difficult to control your emotions and make good decisions,” he said. “Drivers must be patient and present while driving if they want to avoid making an appearance as a statistic on next year’s AAMI Crash Index.”
