The good, the bad, and the ugly of roads in Wyndham have been revealed as part of the state government’s release of the Australian Road Assessment Program (AusRAP) road safety star ratings.
AusRAP is a globally recognised risk-rating system designed by the International Road Assessment Program (iRAP). Used in about 130 countries, the iRAP protocols help road authorities identify safety upgrades that will reduce road deaths and injuries.
AusRAP ratings show where the risk of fatal or serious injury is greatest across the road network. This information is laid onto an interactive online map, which details the ratings of major roads across the state ranging from the worst at one star to the best at five stars.
A 2.3km section of Palmers Road was the only one in Wyndham to receive one star. Despite there having been no fatal or serious injury (FSI) crashes on this section in the five years between 2019 and 2023, the stretch has been flagged as being in the riskiest category for an accident to occur.
Point Cook past Saltwater Estate, as well as the Werribee portions of the Princes Highway and Ballan Road, scored two stars. There were eight fatalities on Ballan Road and two fatalities on the Princes Highway that were recorded in the same five-year period between 2019 and 2023.
RACV head of policy James Williams said the release of AusRAP ratings was an important step towards improving road safety and reducing the risk of serious injury and fatalities on Victorian roads.
“We know that some roads are safer than others, and these star ratings give us the evidence to prove it,” he said. “Each additional star rating halves the risk of deaths or serious injuries. Upgrading a road from two stars to three stars halves the number of serious crashes likely to occur.”
“We know that there are limited funds for road upgrades, and AusRAP provides governments with the data to be more targeted and to make decisions from a safety-first perspective.”
RACV said it supports upgrading all major roads to a minimum three-star AusRAP safety rating, with all new roads designed and built to at least four stars.
