A Roads and Maritime Services report has identified four danger spots for fatal crashes along Appin Road.
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The Road Safety Investigation Report was carried out as part of an overall review of the road, which was commissioned by Roads Minister Duncan Gay in December 2012.
The RMS study looked at crash statistics over the entire road from July 1, 2008 to June 30, 2013.
Along the 16.2-kilometre section of Appin Road from the Toggerai Street intersection south of the township to Bulli Tops there were 84 crashes, five of which were fatal.
The report further identified four ‘‘crash clusters’’ that accounted for 42 percent all crashes on this section of road and four of the five fatalities.
The deadliest cluster was crash cluster four, a 200-metre section of road that starts 1.8 kilometres north-west of Loddons Creek in the middle of a left-hand curve. There were two fatalities on this section, and the report said speed was a factor in both.
There were 10 crashes – four of which occurred in wet weather.
Crash cluster three is half a kilometre further north, at the end of that curve, where a further eight crashes, none of which were fatal, occurred.
Crash cluster two, which includes the intersection with Baden Powell Drive and the entry to West Cliff Colliery, was the worst in terms of crashes, with 11. This area also had one fatality.
There was also a fatality – and seven crashes – at crash cluster one, a 400-metre stretch of road that starts about 1.6 kilometres south-east of Appin township.
As part of the study, RMS identified issues that could be contributing to the crashes, including a sign located on the bend at cluster four, and dirty or absent lane markings in cluster two.
The sign will be removed and the markings repainted.
It also raises the issue of ‘‘wet surface crashes’’, which accounted for 40 of the crashes on this road.
While a ‘‘significant resurfacing program’’ had been done, the report said further study needed to be done to assess whether poor drainage was causing the problem.
‘‘An inspection during a rain event will be carried out to determine if a detailed survey of the road geometry is needed,’’ the report said.
