Motoring

Revealed: Most ‘accident-prone’ roads in Australian cities

Oct 04, 2018

AAMI's National Crash Index has named the most dangerous roads across the country. Source: Getty

A busy Melbourne road has been named Australia’s top accident spot, with new research revealing the most common streets for crashes around the country.

Data from AAMI’s 2018 Crash Index, compiled between August 2017 to July 2018, has named Australia’s most dangerous roads, with Melbourne’s Plenty Road in Bundoora taking out the top spot. Springvale Road at Glen Waverley, also in Melbourne, had previously held the title for the past five years.

In Queensland, Gympie Road in Brisbane’s northern suburb of Chermside was named the state’s worst road. Gympie Road has appeared in the top five most dangerous roads for several years.

Most dangerous roads in Brisbane. Source: AAMI

In Sydney, the top accident spot is the Hume Highway in Liverpool, while The Parade in Norwood has the most collisions in Adelaide. Canberra’s most dangerous road has been revealed as Monaro Highway in Hume, while in Perth, the Albany Highway in Cannington was named the top accident hotspot.

Finally, in Hobart two locations tied for the top spot: Argyle Street in Hobart and Sandy Bay Road in Sandy Bay.

“All of the top hotspots across Australia share commonalities in that there is a high volume of vehicles entering and exiting at multiple intersections, frequent stopping and starting, and constantly changing driver conditions,” AAMI spokeswoman Ashleigh Paterson said.

“Concentration is key so we are urging all drivers to be mindful of safe driving behaviours when travelling on our roads, especially when they find themselves in one of these accident-prone areas.”

Paterson said further research by AAMI showed that more than one in three people (35 per cent) had admitted to texting behind the wheel at traffic lights and 31 per cent admitted to talking on the phone while holding their handset.

However, the data also showed that 67 per cent of motorists become angry when they see others using a mobile phone while driving.

“While it is positive that many drivers are unhappy when they see other motorists using a mobile phone when driving, an alarming number of people are still using their mobile phones while on the road. These are concerning findings as we know mobile use is a leading cause of driver distraction and increases the chance of misjudgements and lapses in concentration, leading to traffic collisions,” Paterson said.

“We are urging drivers to limit the use of mobile phones while driving and only unlocking your phone when it is absolutely safe to do so.”