In October 2021, insurance company AAMI released their 2021 AAMI Crash Index including a press release highlighting the top 10 locations for accidents in the Canberra region. Three roads within Gungahlin were identified in the top ten worst locations in Canberra, with two in the top 5, ie.
The GCC wrote to the Minister for Transport on 21 October 2021 seeking an “indication of what steps will be taken to address the accident/safety issues on Gundaroo Dr, Anthony Rolfe Ave, and Gungahlin Dr identified in [the AAMI Crash Index]”. As a result, the GCC was offered a briefing with the Traffic Management and Safety section of Roads ACT on 6 December 2021. During this (virtual) meeting we were shown a summary of the accident data collected by the ACT Government which is based on actual crash data and intersections, as opposed to the AAMI report which is based on insurance claims and roads. The GCC asked for a copy of the report that was being shown and received the “2020 Intersection and Mid-block Ranking Report” on 8 February 2022, along with this analysis of the roads identified in the AAMI report:
| Total number of crashes | Intersection Ranking | Intersection Ranking | Black Spot Ranking 2016-2020 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Location | 2014-2020 | 2014-2020 | 2019-2020 | |
| Gozzard Street/Ernest Cavanagh Street | 40 (10 injury + 30 pdo) | 20 | Outside top 300 | 35 |
| The Valley Avenue/ Gozzard Street | 31 (1 injury + 30 pdo) | 172 | Outside top 300 | N/A |
| Gribble Street/Ernest Cavanagh Street | 12 (2 injury + 10 pdo) | Outside top 300 | Outside top 300 | N/A |
| Efkarpidis Street/ Gungahlin Place West | 30 (all pdo) | 160 | Outside top 300 | N/A |
| Ernest Cavanagh Street/ Hinder Street | 36 (4 injury + 32 pdo) | 67 | 4 | 93 |
Note: pdo = Property Damage Only. The Blackspot Rankings are a national (Federal) ranking; the 7 and two rankings are within the ACT
There is much to digest in the Roads ACT report, which covers all of the ACT, however in the section headed “The 2021/22 candidate locations for further examination” we can see that even in the ACT government’s own data Gungahlin roads rank highly over the past two years (the “score” is detailed in the full report; it includes a measure of severity):
The 2021/22 candidate locations for further examination
The GCC has requested a regularly meeting with Roads ACT and TCCS in our October 2021 correspondence with Minister Steele … we are yet to receive a reply.
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