FATALITIES on the region's roads have cost hundreds of lives and millions of dollars, an NRMA report finds.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
In Tamworth alone, 26 people have lost their lives and 630 have been seriously injured at a cost of $388 million to taxpayers between 2014 to 2018 as emergency services, hospital care and rehabilitation adds up.
The NRMA's Rate Your Road report unveils the roads that concern the public the most and the true cost of lives lost, spokesman Peter Khoury said.
"The increase in cost between metropolitan and rural road trauma incidents is really quite staggering," he said.
"There's no way to quantify the human cost of road accidents, but calculating the cost to taxpayers is one way to help identity the need for more funding to improve road conditions and road safety.
"One of the reasons we're kicking off this campaign is that despite record-breaking levels of road infrastructure investment there is still a lot more to do in the regions."
Between 2014 and 2018, Gunnedah had five fatals, Narrabri had 11, Tenterfield had six and Armidale had nine.
Last year, road users were asked how they felt about the condition of local roads.
In the Townsend region, which covers everywhere from Tenterfield down past Tamworth and out to Coffs Harbour - roads tended to be reported in poor condition and less safe than the state average.
Gunnedah's Rangari Road got a special mention for being unsafe, as did New Winton Road at Westdale in Tamworth - where users expressed concerns about heavy loaded trucks using a 'too-narrow' road.
Tamworth Regional Council was named the 'safest' LGA in the Townsend region, with a road trauma cost of $1.80 per person, per kilometre.
Read also:
In comparison, Walcha is the 'least safe' and cost taxpayers $22.18 per person, per kilometre.
That means Walcha has nearly 15 times more road trauma than Tamworth.
In May 2020, the federal government announced a $1.8 billion commitment to road infrastructure with a focus on regional roads.
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark northerndailyleader.com.au
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter
- Follow us on Instagram
- Follow us on Google News