Father horrified at carelessness of drivers on 'notoriously bad' road

Sam Lange drives between the Rollos Road and Bartons Road intersections at Naringal East at 6am and 4pm each day for work.

There have been six accidents on that stretch in the past 13 days - most recently a driver of a dual cab Mitsubishi tray truck who lost control about 5pm Wednesday, April 24.

Less than a week earlier a 62-year-old Warrnambool man died after his Proton Jumbuck ute collided with a Holden Rodeo ute driven by a 19-year-old Jancourt East man.

The teenager has since been charged with dangerous driving causing his death.

Regional Roads Victoria was contacted for comment and by Monday morning, April 22, 80kmh signs had been erected on the dangerous stretch.

But Mr Lange said the signs were not a long-term solution.

"Even yesterday I was doing 80kmh and there was a Holden ute with a trailer that overtook me," he said on April 25.

"I was doing 80kmh. It's not slowing people down and yesterday proved that."

In just two days Mr Lange has witnessed a tractor driver using his phone while not letting traffic pass, and a number of cars travelling without headlights in the dark, or with high beams on for extended periods while approaching oncoming traffic.

He also spotted a helmet-less rider on a quad bike towing a calf milk trailer in the dark with no lights, which if not for his vehicle's automatic detection system, he wouldn't have realised was in front of him.

Mr Lange said he was regularly run off the road by milk tankers which crossed over the middle white line in the dark and with oncoming traffic.

He said while the maintenance of the road was "notoriously bad", driver behaviour was equally to blame.

"There have been warnings in place for years and it's a road that people have been screaming out for for years to be maintained, but drivers also need to take better care," Mr Lange said.

"There are trucks that could be taking alternative routes. The Cobden-Warrnambool Road, with its blind corners, foliage, wildlife and low visibility, is not a shortcut for heavy vehicles.

"I know when I go to Melbourne I certainly don't take it because it is an unsafe route."

Mr Lange said while the number of crashes in recent weeks was not surprising, it was devastating.

"Especially when there is a fatality which has torn apart a family," he said.

Mr Lange has two daughters, Freddie, 5, and Gigi, 2.

He said if conditions did not change by the time they were old enough to drive, he would not be comfortable with them taking a road that "crumbled when you sneeze at it".

But, understanding it could be avoidable, he said he would make sure they had a vehicle that could cope with poorly-maintained roads and teach them to be cautious of other drivers.

Mr Lange urged south-west motorists to work as a team, taking care on the "awful" stretch of road while continuing to put pressure on the state government to provide long-term road maintenance and higher police visibility.