The need for independent safety investigation and regulation of road infrastructure

Abstract

Morgan’s article (Morgan, 2022) raises an important topic and makes valuable points. In complex systems, crashes result from a combination of factors. Often, not all are recognised, a phenomenon known as What-You-Look-For-Is-What-You-Find (Lundberg et al., 2009). While driving over 40,000km around Australia, nonsensical or dangerous signage has been observed. For example, a 100km/h speed sign was posted when leaving a town, and that road terminated less than 100m later at a T-junction with a highway. Another example is the use of roadwork signs with no road workers, no pavement narrowing, or no roadworks at all. As Morgan (2022) indicates, poor signage contributes to crashes.