The deadliest threat on the South Coast's roads is not a dramatic head-on smash. It often arrives at lunchtime, claiming solitary, middle-aged men driving along straight roads.
An analysis of the Australian Road Deaths Database revealed that 56.2 per cent of the 73 road victims over the past decade in the Bega Valley and Eurobodalla shires died in single-vehicle incidents.
The Princes Highway and the Kings Highway, arterial roads for Canberrans visiting the South Coast and notorious crash sites, are located in these local government areas.
Single-vehicle crashes made up the bulk of the tragedies, claiming 41 lives. The vast majority were drivers, alongside six motorcyclists.
The Bega Valley recorded a higher average age of victims at 53-years-old compared to the Eurobodalla Shire where victims averaged 47-years-old.
However, Eurobodalla saw a higher proportion of male fatalities, with 88 per cent being male, compared to 81 per cent in the Bega Valley.
South Coast Police District Detective Inspector Justin Marks said these scenes reveal a complex mix of variables, from medical episodes and fatigue to substance abuse and self-harm.
The South Coast police officer is an accredited crash investigator with decades of experience.
"I've been to ones where it was quite evident it was an intentional act of self-harm, and others with evidence of fatigue and micro-sleeps, speed and alcohol," Detective Inspector Marks said.
"If there's no indicators of self-harm, misadventure, or avoidance of wildlife, I look at fatigue until I have sound factual information for medical conditions."
Investigators look at everything from physical evidence, such as animal fibres or using drones to indicate wildlife involvement, to complex mathematical equations calculating a vehicle's speed from skid marks, frozen dials in older cars, to someone's final notes.
While recent speed limit reductions across the Far South Coast dropped caps by 20kmh, Detective Inspector Marks noted collisions remained high-velocity impacts.
"Although it may not be fatal, you will still have lifelong injuries. It won't eliminate it, nothing ever will," he said.
"However, I think anything anyone can do to put in preventions or disrupt a fatal, anything is worth a go. Whether it's rumble strips, decreasing the speed limits, or wire fencing, in known areas, would go well.
"Based on the data and all the different factors that we look at, it's hard to tell whether it would help, but if I could save one person, that would be a win."
Local government data reinforced the infrastructure argument.
A Bega Valley Shire Council report analysing crashes from 2020 to 2024 showed the vast majority of traffic incidents happened on straight, sealed roads away from intersections, with single-vehicle incidents accounting for nearly 70 per cent of all crashes.
To reduce serious crashes, the council urged "targeted infrastructure upgrades" to enhance visibility and awareness, including street lighting at critical points, solar-powered warning lights, and illuminated audio-tactile line marking (ATLM).
Experts have argued that instead of forcing drivers to constantly watch their speedometers, infrastructure should be used to jolt them awake or force attention back to the asphalt.
This was especially pressing given that more than half of all fatalities in the dual-shire region occurred in 100kmh zones during broad daylight.
The Enhanced Crash Investigation Study (ECIS) offered a blueprint for NSW, finding that more than one-third of hospitalised drivers could have been protected if a layered infrastructure of defence, rumble strips, perceptual markings, and physical barriers, had been installed.
Furthermore, that specific infrastructure setup could have spared 46.3 per cent of drivers from suffering severe trauma like brain and spinal injuries, and reduced lane-departure or head-on crashes.
Monash Accident Research Centre director Professor Stuart Newstead said literature suggested a 20 to 40 per cent reduction in run-off-the-road crashes when audio-tactile markings were used.
"Ideally, we'd like to invest all in our roads and make them safe so we can travel as fast as we like, but it's not going to happen," he said.
"We need to target our investment in the routes that we use most and the rest we have to change our attitudes."
He noted that literature suggested a reduction of 20 to 40 per cent of total run-off-the-road crashes when audio-tactile markings were used. He added, "For every dollar you spend, you save $100 on road trauma costs in the community".
"Audio tactile line markings, if you don't have the budget to do barriers, is a very good alternative and, in fact, I think it should be standard on every road everywhere in regional areas because it is that good and cost effective," Professor Newstead said.
"It's not effective in every situation. But we have new vehicle technologies coming on, which should hopefully help to monitor drivers' state and slow the car down if asleep, so you don't have a big crash."
While speed limit reductions were often unpopular, Professor Newstead said they achieved a 50 per cent casualty reduction on 100kmh roads in the Mornington Peninsula.
He noted that standard vehicles were only Australian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) safety-tested for impacts up to 64kmh.
"If you hit a tree at 100kmh, you're in unknown territory. So, it's just something you don't want to do. The results are quite catastrophic," Professor Newstead said.
"It's almost impossible to design a regular passenger vehicle to sustain impact into a fixed object at 100kmh.
"People make a mistake and the system isn't designed for that to happen."
Transport for NSW defended its approach, stating that speed management reduced both the likelihood of a crash and the severity of injuries, particularly where roadside hazards and narrow shoulders increased the consequences of driver error.
A spokesperson said the agency applied a "Safe System" approach and that it was "not a choice between one treatment over another" but that stronger outcomes were achieved when applied together.
While noting that audio-tactile markings cannot be installed everywhere due to pavement conditions and cycling safety and shoulder widths, the agency highlighted recent rumble strip installations along the Princes Highway at Coila, Mogo, and between Bega and Frogs Hollow.
"Transport continues to monitor road safety outcomes and works closely with local councils and NSW Police to prioritise improvements and ensure the most appropriate mix of treatments is applied to local conditions," the spokesperson said.
