A 71-year-old Ballarat man has died after reportedly hitting a pothole and crashing his motorcycle on the Western Highway near Beaufort in Victoria.
Emergency services were called to the highway near Trawalla Road shortly before 12.50pm on Sunday after the rider lost control. Police confirmed he died at the scene and said investigations were continuing.
The crash has renewed scrutiny of the condition of Victoria’s regional roads, with potholes emerging as a major political issue ahead of the state election on November 28.
Martha Haylett, the Labor member for Ripon, whose electorate includes Trawalla, said she had been pressing the Government to repair the roads properly.
“I am devastated by this news. My heart goes out to the victim’s family and loved ones,” Ms Haylett said.
“Our roads are not good enough, and I have been pushing the roads minister and others to begin repair works urgently.
“Works started last week, but still have a way to go. No person should ever lose their life on our roads and that’s why we have to fix them, and do it properly.”
A Trawalla resident, Katherine, who has lived in the area for more than 30 years, said the stretch of highway between Ballarat and Beaufort contained “dozens on dozens” of potholes.
“The road is shocking. We’ve had problems with that stretch for years, and even when they fix [the potholes] up they’re rough,” she said.
“We used to be quite fearful of kangaroos, but now potholes are the danger.”
Western Region MP Joe McCracken described the death as a “very sad fatality” and said it underscored the safety risks posed by potholes.
A report by the Victorian Auditor-General’s Office released last week found that 48 per cent of the state’s government-managed roads were in poor or very poor condition, with deterioration outpacing repairs.
Shadow roads and road safety minister Danny O’Brien said the condition of Victoria’s roads should be the Government’s highest priority.
“This is a terrible tragedy, and my heart goes out to the deceased and his family,” Mr O’Brien said. “This is the saddest possible consequence to have come from the terrible state of Victorian roads, and it never should have come to this.”
A state government spokesperson expressed sympathy to the man’s family and thanked emergency services, while echoing police appeals for dashcam or CCTV footage and other information about the crash.
