A man has lost his life in a head on collision on a major Perth highway leading to renewed pleas from police for drivers to take it easy on WA roads.
The deadly crash took place early Tuesday morning on a major arterial road north of the city with emergency crews summoned to the area after reports of a two car collision in opposite lanes.
The man who appeared to be alone in one of the cars was critically injured and died at the scene. The driver of the other car was taken to a hospital with injuries that were not life threatening.
According to the police the accident led to considerable traffic congestion for a number of hours as the scene was analyzed and efforts were made to remove the vehicles from the road.
The lanes were blocked in both directions which made drivers take long routes. The Major Crash team is investigating the circumstances of the collision.
The police have not released the names of the people who died as the families have not yet been formally notified.
A spokesperson for the WA Police said that the investigation was still in its early stages and that anyone who may have witnessed the accident or have dashcam footage of the area around the time of the accident is encouraged to come forward.
This is in addition to the toll on the state’s roads which has remained high despite sustained enforcement and road safety campaigns.
Country roads and high speed roads in the metropolitan areas remain a major source of fatal crashes especially those involving head on collisions.
According to road safety experts, head on collisions are some of the most dangerous due to the combined effect of the forces involved.
They are usually caused by vehicles crossing the center line of the road either due to loss of control, lack of attention or reckless overtaking.
The accident has once again brought to light the safety of the major road network in Perth especially the older highways that do not have physical median barriers.
Although wire rope and concrete barriers have been erected on some high risk roads many busy roads are still using painted lines to separate traffic moving at high speed in opposite directions.
Recently, the WA Police have increased their presence on major highways as part of a road safety operation targeting speeding, using mobile phones while driving and driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol.
According to the police, these driving habits are still major contributors to serious and fatal crashes.
The crash is also a reminder to drivers to be more cautious on their daily routes especially on roads that are familiar to them and where they may be tempted to become complacent.
The police are advising drivers to plan ahead and take regular breaks when traveling long distances and not to be distracted while driving.
Traffic has since returned to normal in the area although police are expected to be in the area over the coming days as investigations continue. Anyone with information is encouraged to contact Crime Stoppers.
