Road Design will Eliminate Head-on Crashes

Road Design will Eliminate Head-on Crashes
A road that can virtually eliminate head-on crashes will be trialled in Tasmania to reduce road deaths and injuries.

At least six head-on fatal smashes have happened on the state's roads this year, including one that killed four young Hobart women on the Midland Highway.

The one-plus-two road originated in Sweden, where traditional four-lane highways have almost been abandoned, and head-on collisions are nearly extinct.

The 13-metre-wide, three-lane highways have a centre safety barrier that alternates to give an overtaking lane every couple of kilometres.

The barrier prevents head-on crashes and out-of-control cars crossing into lanes of oncoming traffic, but still allows plenty of opportunity to overtake.

Infrastructure Minister Jim Cox discovered the roads during a recent visit to Sweden, a world leader in road safety and design.

He has asked his department to find somewhere to trial the life-saving road and wants Tasmania to be the first place in the southern hemisphere to adopt the system.

"We build the roads so that if people make a mistake, people won't get killed," Mr Cox said.