Exton crash raises questions about Bass Hwy quality
Sharon Webb
A two-car crash that killed two people on the Bass Highway near Exton has raised concerns about the safety of non-divided sections of the road.
The people killed were, sadly, Victorian parents on holiday with their three teenagers during the mid-year school break.
Locals believe drivers may get confused on non-divided parts of the highway, forgetting whether they are on two or four lane sections.
State Growth statistics indicate that since 2019, four fatal crashes and nine out of the 12 serious collisions on the Bass Highway between Launceston and Devonport happened on non-separated sections.
They also indicate traffic flow on the Bass Highway rivals that on the Midland Highway, which recently has been upgraded.
A spokesman for the department of State Growth said, ‘Two-way traffic signs and direction arrows on the road surface are in place at relevant points along the highway to address concerns about possible confusion.
‘Tasmanian road design and road rules are no different from similar conditions in other states.’
The accident at 11.15am on Saturday 10 July caused thousands of cars to be redirected through Westbury and Deloraine for about six hours.
Rescue personal and accident analysts were on the scene for many hours.
Federal Member for Lyons Brian Mitchell MP said the highway is very busy and too much of it remains single lane.
‘A number of sections between Hadspen and Elizabeth Town should be dual-lane.
‘Labor made a Bass Highway commitment at the federal election nearly three years ago so why have the Liberals waited till now to get this important process started?’
Police said the July accident was a head-on crash between a Ford Ecosport travelling west being driven by the Victorian father, and a Mitsubishi Pajero Sport travelling east, containing two adults and a four week old baby.
The Ford crossed the centre line and collided with the Mitsubishi.
Three teenagers in the rear seat of the Ford were transported to the LGH and the Royal Hobart Hospital.
The woman driving the Mitsubishi and the infant were taken to the LGH and the man in the front seat was taken to the Royal by helicopter.
Police have thanked members of the public who stopped to help at the accident site and police helped a member of the pubic to extinguish a fire in the engine bay of the Ecosport.
A report will be prepared for the coroner.
The accident comes as the Tasmanian government is asking residents to identify priorities on the Bass Highway between Hadspen and Devonport.
Minister for Infrastructure Michael Ferguson said safety upgrades between Deloraine and Latrobe will be a key priority in developing a ten year Bass Highway Corridor Strategy.
‘The community is invited to provide feedback, including issues they have experienced, and how they use this stretch of highway,’ he said.
Consultation is open until August 14. Feedback forms are available at the Meander Valley and Latrobe councils’ offices or an online, interactive map can be accessed from transport.tas.gov.au/basshighwaylauncestontodevonport.
The final strategy and implementation plan are expected to be released in late 2021 with the first projects to be implemented in 2022.
