Driven to distraction: South Australia’s top road complaints
An RAA survey has revealed the issue which tops the list of complaints among regional and metropolitan drivers.
The RAA’s Report a Road platform, which allows drivers to report road and infrastructure issues, has shown road surface is the biggest issue for road users around the state, both in regional and metropolitan areas.
Complaints about road conditions such as cracks and potholes made up 51 per cent of regional complaints and 37 per cent of metropolitan, taking it to the top issue reported at 41 per cent.
RAA senior traffic engineer Matt Vertudaches said the condition of some roads around the state was “concerning – especially in our regional network”.
The state government announced plans in March for road upgrades in the Yorke Peninsula, Murraylands, Mid North, Eyre Peninsula and Fleurieu Peninsula as part of a $168 million regional road improvement project, which is partially funded by the federal government.
Left: Naracoorte Rd at Bordertown. Right: Upper Yorke Rd, Arthurton to Kulpara. Photos: Grain Producers SA.You might like
Vertudaches said further investment was needed.
“We have a $2 billion road maintenance backlog in South Australia and the latest Auditor General’s report shows this equates to 20 per cent of our 13,000km road network,” he said.
“That’s why we’ve been calling for $1 billion over four years to address this issue.”
The state road toll this year is at 58, with 38 casualties taking place in rural areas.
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According to state government data, 57 per cent of lives lost on the roads from 2017–2021 were in rural areas.
The second most commonly reported issue was about intersection design or road layout, which made up 24 per cent of complaints.
Inadequate signage or line markings was third highest at eight per cent, and driver behaviour was fourth highest at seven per cent. Complaints of behaviour included speeding, red-light running, and illegal parking.
The RAA said that of the almost 600 submissions made through Report a Road in the last two financial years, 64 had been successfully addressed, including road resurfacing on Kensington Road, sunken pit cover remediation on Anzac Highway, and new lines at the Greenhill Road/Hutt Road/George Street intersection.
“The areas with the most nominations were in metropolitan Adelaide, with issues in the southern suburbs raised in 22 per cent of all submissions, followed by Northern Adelaide (18 per cent), Western suburbs (16 per cent) and the Eastern Adelaide including CBD (11 per cent),” Vertudaches said.
“In the last financial year, we’ve also seen a jump in nominations for improvements to cycling and walking infrastructure, as more of our members look to use active transport and then notice spots that are unsafe.”
Pedestrian or cycling infrastructure was the fifth most raised issue, making up five per cent of complaints.
Poor sight distance came in at number six (4 per cent), speed limits at seven (three per cent), and roadside hazards at eight (three per cent).
