A stretch of road that was the site of a four-car crash at Kings Meadows has already been identified as a black spot and will be the subject of a future review, however particular traffic calming measures for that location have not been implemented by the City of Launceston Council.
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Hobart Road at Kings Meadows is a major arterial road out of Launceston and can carry up to 20,000 vehicles daily. On Sunday night, a medical episode triggered a four-car crash outside the takeaway food complex that houses KFC, among others.
It is one of a number of crashes reported over the years along the road and at that particular intersection, as noted by a number of subscribers after the crash was posted to social media on Sunday.
The City of Launceston Council owns the road, and Mayor Albert van Zetten said the road had already been identified and met the criteria as a black spot. Still, the number of crashes per traffic volume was "relatively low", and the council had not investigated specific traffic measures for that area.
Cr Van Zetten said the corridor often experienced congestion due to the volume of cars and, as such, was considered a crash hot spot based on state government statistics.
"In recent years the council has rolled out a number of projects aimed at improving safety and reducing congestion on Hobart Road, and we will continue to do so in future in line with the Launceston Transport Strategy," Cr van Zetten said.
"As part of the strategy, [the] council is undertaking an assessment of our entire road network so that we can prioritise investment in road safety where it is needed most urgently and where the most impact will be realised. Hobart Road will form part of that assessment."
Black spots are identified if there is a history of at least three casualty crashes over five years. For lengths of roads, there should be an average of 0.2 casualty crashes per kilometre per year over five years.
Funding is available at a state and federal level for infrastructure to reduce black spots.
A Tasmania Police spokesperson on Monday advised a 70-year-old man travelling north in a blue Holden Commodore suffered a medical condition. As a result, his car ran into a stationary Renault, indicating to turn right. The Holden then pushed the Renault into two other vehicles: a Peugeot indicating to turn right and a south-bound Honda Civic.
The Tasmania Police spokesperson said the grey Renault was indicating to complete a legal right-hand turn into the car park of the KFC complex.
According to the Road Safety Advisory Council, which has published a myth-busting document on its website, it's a common misconception that you can't turn right across a solid white line.
The document notes that you can turn right over any dividing line, including a solid/unbroken line, unless there is a sign that says it's not allowed.
There are signs in the car park indicating drivers should not execute a right-hand turn leaving the car park during peak times. However, it is not explicitly targeted at vehicles entering the car park or KFC drive-thru.
Cr van Zetten said the council had implemented crash-reducing strategies and had succeeded at intersections at different parts of that road.
"In 2017, the council undertook a Black Spot safety improvement project at the intersection of Hobart and Opossum roads, which successfully reduced the number of crashes to zero," he said.
"In early 2018, upgrades to the traffic signal network resulted in journey time improvements of up to two minutes, or around 30 per cent of travel time - between Punchbowl Road and the Kings Meadows Connector."
Sunday night's crash caused traffic disruption for about an hour while emergency services cleared the road. The Holden's 70-year-old driver was taken to the Launceston General Hospital, where he remains stable. No other injuries were reported.
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