The popular mobile phone navigation app, Google Maps, will no longer send drivers along a regional Victorian road as first preference after a crash that killed five people last month.
Five people were killed in a three-vehicle accident at the Labuan Road/Murray Valley Highway intersection near Strathmerton in north-east Victoria on April 20 — that state's worst road crash in more than a decade.
Moira Shire Council acting chief executive Joshua Lewis said locals had previously raised concerns about the shortcut, saying it was not suitable for heavy traffic.
Mr Lewis said he was thrilled when Google Maps contacted his office unprompted.
"They were very proactive," he said.
"It was after an interview with the ABC that Google Maps picked up on the issues that we were experiencing."
Google Maps no longer lists Labuan Road as a top recommended route.
"I guess there is a message there that obviously Google Maps is one of many navigational aids and we encourage everyone to make a conscious decision to select the safest route, not necessarily the fastest," Mr Lewis said.
Less traffic already
Before the change, resident Leesa McNamara said living on Labuan Road was "hectic".
"On public holidays, we don't want to go out because of the amount of traffic," she said.
"Easter weekend, for example, we got no sleep because there was a constant stream of cars, trucks, caravans going up and down our road."
Ms McNamara said residents living along the deadly road were frustrated by slow action to address safety issues previously identified by police.
Safety improvements outstanding
A Victoria Police spokesperson said driver error was a major factor in a February 2022 crash at the Labuan Road and Murray Valley Highway intersection that killed one man and seriously injured two police officers.
Following the crash, police completed a fatal collision audit report, which included a site evaluation with a Regional Roads Victoria representative.
It recommended larger stop signs and for separation lanes to be painted on Labuan Road as it approached Murray Valley Highway.
The Department of Transport and Planning subsequently installed rumble strips, warning signs approaching the intersection, and give-way signage.
The audit also recommended the speed limit on Labuan Road approaching the intersection be reduced to 80 kilometres per hour and that an embankment caused by a disused railway line be flattened to improve visibility.
Neither the reduced speed limit or embankment flattening had been completed more than a year after the audit.
Speaking the day after last month's tragedy, Mr Lewis said recent safety upgrades had clearly "proved ineffective in preventing this most recent crash".
Local criticises inaction
Ms McNamara said she was "disgusted" by the inaction.
"It takes five people to lose their lives before someone is going to have a look at this?" she said.
"The police, who drive this road just as regularly as anybody else, made their recommendation 12 months ago. It should have been put in place."
Ms McNamara said she had to be hypervigilant driving the roads around her home.
"It's caught me out a couple of times, that railway track," she said.
She said it was too easy to miss signage where Labuan Road met the highway, with the embankment obstructing its view.
"If you're not paying 100 per cent attention and do not know that road, you are going to go through that intersection," Ms McNamara said.
A Department of Transport and Planning spokesperson said officers were working with Moira Shire Council and Victoria Police to improve safety on the Murray Valley Highway.
"Planning work on several improvements, including options recommended by police, is underway and we will continue to work with our road safety partners to improve our road network," the spokesperson said.
