South Australia’s high-speed road network has become significantly safer over the past decade, with the length of roads rated three stars or higher increasing by 54 per cent since 2014, according to the latest Australian Road Assessment Program (AusRAP) results.
AusRAP assesses road safety using a one to five-star rating system, with higher-rated roads featuring safety measures such as sealed shoulders, wider lanes, safety barriers, rumble strips and improved road surfaces. Each one-star improvement is estimated to halve the risk of a fatal or serious injury crash.
More than 3,000km of South Australia’s regional road network has received improved safety ratings since the first assessment, with more than 1,500km now achieving a three-star or higher rating. As a result, 55 per cent of travel on the state’s regional road network now occurs on roads rated three stars or better.
The improved ratings reflect a range of recent investments in road safety, including the $168 million National Road Safety Program, jointly funded by the Federal and South Australian governments, which has delivered upgrades across major regional routes including the Mallee, Lincoln, Barrier and Southern Ports highways.
Additional improvements are being delivered through the State Government’s $10 million Regional Road Safety Infrastructure Program and the $150 million Adelaide Hills Productivity and Road Safety Package.
The latest AusRAP data will help inform future road safety investment and supports the national target of ensuring at least 80 per cent of travel occurs on roads rated three stars or higher by 2030, as part of Australia’s Vision Zero goal of eliminating road deaths and serious injuries by 2050.
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