General News
28 September, 2026
RACV: road surfaces number one issue
The condition of major roads is likely to be a major issue for regional voters in the coming state election, given the results of the RACV 2026 My Country Road survey released last week.
With 6143 responses and 10,048 requests for road improvements, the biennial survey noted a percentage rise in the number one issue, potholes and rough surfaces – at 64 per cent in 2024, the figure for this survey was 71 per cent.
RACV executive general manager Phil Turnbull said the number was reflected not just in opinions – their own statistics on tyre-related breakdown callouts had also risen, to 112,000 in the last 12 months.
“This is a unique road safety campaign because it is both evidence-based and reflective of community concerns,” he said.
“RACV worked with the Australian Automobile Association to review the safety standard of 20,000 kilometres of regional roads – using Australian Road Assessment Program data – to shortlist the 52 most hazardous roads based on design features such as narrow lanes, poor visibility, and lack of overtaking opportunities and crash barriers.”
The significance of 71 per cent was further underlined by the fact that the next highest concern, limited overtaking opportunities, was much lower at 13 per cent.
Nearly three-quarters (73 per cent) of respondents named road resurfacing as the highest-priority improvement.
As for the worst roads in the state nominated by drivers, three places in the top 20 were occupied by different sections of the Western Highway – number five (Ararat to Stawell), number eight (Ballarat to Trawalla) and number 11 (Horsham to Stawell).
A recurring theme on social media in response to the results was people sardonically commenting on the apparent imbalance of having to maintain roadworthy vehicles, while roads are not “car worthy”.
With the Victoria election just over two months away, Premier Ben Carroll announced $112 million in funding taken from the deferral of Melbourne level crossing removal projects towards road maintenance, especially addressing Western Highway potholes following the tragic death of 71-year-old motorcyclist, Peter ‘Tiki’ Mason, near Ballarat just over a week ago.
“I'll do everything I can to make sure we have safe roads,” Mr Carroll said.
“Victorians know my back-to-basics approach includes roads and road safety.”
Mr Carroll blamed the Coalition government of the 1990s for outsourcing maintenance contracts, and said he would reverse that decision.
“I'm going to do what Western Australia has done,” he said.
“I'm going to bring it all back inside. I'm going to make sure there is full accountability, full transparency on our roads – that the formula, the bitumen, the concrete, the resealing on top, the hot bitumen – it is done to a standard that every Victorian can be proud of.”
But the Opposition has strongly leveraged the issue, with Western Victoria MP Bev MacArthur and Lowan MP Emma Kealy both accusing the government of long-term neglect.
Ms MacArthur reposted a clip from five years ago on social media where, during Mr Carroll’s stint as roads minister, she asked then-treasurer Tim Pallas about the road conditions “lowering the standard of living of rural and regional Victorians”, to which he retorted “the potholes that look like craters only occur in Liberal Party propaganda”.
“Come on a trip with me, treasurer, I’ll show you,” Ms McArthur replied.
Ms Kealy said the RACV report was effectively an endorsement of The Nationals' commitment to $5 billion of roads spending over four years.
“Western Victorians don’t need a report to tell us our roads are falling apart, but these results do show just how widespread the problem has become,” she said.
“After 12 years of Labor, country Victorians are sick of dodging potholes and watching our roads deteriorate.
“When more than a quarter of the RACV’s statewide hazardous-road shortlist is concentrated on major routes serving western Victoria, Labor cannot pretend this is just a pothole here or there.
“Country Victorians aren’t asking for another warning sign or another temporary patch. They want their roads properly fixed.”
Ms Kealy also highlighted that the RACV results came just days after the Victorian Auditor-General revealed almost half of Victoria’s state roads were now rated poor or very poor.