A recent crash at a notorious blackspot intersection has prompted a Victorian farmer to donate his land to help prevent further fatalities at the site, near Horsham.
Lubeck farmer Graeme Maher received a phone notification from the Country Fire Authority on December 4, summoning him and other volunteers to a collision between a truck and car at Horsham-Lubeck Road's intersection with Murtoa-Glenorchy Road.
"The person involved, in the truck, went through the give-way sign [on Horsham-Lubeck Road] and hit a car travelling on Murtoa-Glenorchy Road," he said.
A man in his 20s was taken to Wimmera Base Hospital with minor injuries.
Horsham Highway Patrol said officers issued the truck driver with a ticket for failing to give way to the car.
Mr Maher said he did not blame the truck driver for the accident, but rather the intersection itself.
Fatality in 2016
At the same intersection in August 2016, a two-car collision left one vehicle in flames, killing the driver inside.
Mr Maher said the latest incident hit him hard, given the circumstances leading up to the crash were near-identical.
"This accident, four years on from the previous fatal, allowed us to go, 'That's it, we've had enough. How many times do we have to go through this process?'" he said.
Mr Maher is pushing all three levels of government to do something about the intersection and offering part of the adjoining land he owns, free of charge, as part of this push.
Murtoa-Glenorchy Road cuts across Horsham-Lubeck Road diagonally; Mr Maher said this left blind spots for drivers approaching the intersection from all directions.
In the years following the fatal accident, rumble strips and flashing signs urging motorists to slow down were installed on both sides of Horsham-Lubeck Road approaching the intersection.
Donation so 'we would sleep better'
Mr Maher is offering land which he owns, on both sides of the road south of the intersection, so the road can be realigned.
"To put it in context, an acre is worth about $4,500," he said.
"I've got 7,500 acres of other land.
"If that corner was better, we would sleep better. I don't care about the money."
Murtoa-Glenorchy Road, a C-class road, falls under State Government jurisdiction.
Mr Maher said the road was a major thoroughfare for trucks travelling to and from Murtoa — Victoria's biggest inland grain terminal — and Stawell's rock quarry, as well as a diversion route for traffic.
Council road does not meet funding criteria
Yarriambiack Shire Council manages Horsham-Lubeck Road.
Chief executive Jessie Holmes said it had been on the council's list of problem routes even before the fatality.
"Following that, we had a community meeting on site which VicRoads attended, and the council paid for a road safety audit of the intersection," she said.
"[The Murtoa-Glenorchy Road is] not our asset, but it was important for us to know that when we were going to VicRoads … that we were clear what we wanted.
"The long-term solution suggested was changing the layout of the intersection, including some land acquisition in the south-east corner [Mr Maher's land].
"We also got costings done on what that would look like and put an application into state black-spot funding for that intersection."
The road does not meet the criteria for the black-spot funding.
"But we put [the application] in anyway because that was the most important issue for us in relation to getting more funding," Ms Holmes said.
"I would hope the Lubeck community knows we will continue to be very vocal.
"Clearly we have had another very serious incident at that location."
The council's costings suggested it would cost $184,500 to realign both sides of Horsham-Lubeck Road to meet Murtoa-Glenorchy road at right angles.
Upgrade is 'on the list'
Michael Bailey, the Regional Director for Western Region for Regional Roads Victoria, said after receiving Mr Maher's letter, Regional Roads Victoria (RRV) would look at how the short-term solutions had changed the area's safety.
"[They will] then look at what the ultimate solution might be if it's not what is there at the moment," he said.
"Every time there is a significant incident, we get a report from Victoria Police around what they think the contributing factors are, that then flows through to remedial action."
An RRV spokesman said there had been three crashes recorded at the intersection in the past five years, including the one this month.
Ms Holmes said she understood RRV had a lot of intersections across the state that were problematic.
"They have to prioritise," she said.
"They say this one is 'on the list', but where on the list we don't know.
"We don't want to wait for the number of serious crashes required to be eligible for blackspot funding. It needs to be addressed now."
