Borung Highway collision

In the Borung Highway collision near Donald, Victoria at 12:40 pm (AEST) on 26 September, 2006, a vehicle approaching an intersection from a minor road failed to heed a Give way sign and collided with a vehicle travelling in the opposite direction.

This was the state of Victoria's worst road accident, in terms of casualties, in over a decade, resulting in all seven people in both vehicles being killed. After the collision, one vehicle caught fire and burned.

The design of the intersection was not an ordinary T-intersection, but a confusing Y-shape which locals had been complaining about for years as an accident waiting to happen.

From the point of view of the driver at fault, who had been on the road for many hours and may have been tired, the stretch of the Borung Highway disappearing into the distance may well have been a continuation of the road from Swan Hill on which he was actually driving. The small give way sign might easily be overlooked.

Details

There were five people in a Ford sedan travelling south on the road from Swan Hill. They drove through the give way sign and collided with a Ford Transit van and enclosed gokart trailer travelling northeast along the Borung Highway. The husband and wife in the van were travelling from their home in Heywood in Victoria to a gokart meeting in Dubbo in which their son was competing. He passed the accident in a friend's car a few minutes later not realising his parents were involved.

Road conditions and visibility

The accident occurred just past noon, when the sun is relatively high in the sky, considering the latitude and the season being Spring (southern hemisphere).

Road signs which are reflective, are very visible at nighttime when the car headlights are on, however this accident occurred during the day.

The weather appears to have been fine, with no mention of bad weather. The driver who went through the give way sign was heading away from the sun, which is not to say that he might have been blinded by a reflection from the sun.

Signage

There was a give way sign at the intersection and a yellow diamond-shaped "Y-intersection Ahead" sign. It is not known if any such signs were of a larger than usual size. It is not known if there were additional "Give Way Ahead" signs.

Aftermath

The state government has promised to upgrade the intersection to the better T-intersection arrangement.

The Black Spot program is a project of the Australia Government to eliminate safety problems on the roads.

Similar accidents

* Gerogery level crossing accident - road driver fails to heed flashing lights at level crossing, passed signal at danger, resulting in collision. Dog leg design of crossing and lack of boom barriers probably contribute.

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