A SYDNEY man who was informed of the recent Casterton smash at the notorious intersection of Casterton-Dartmoor/Chaffey’s Road and Glenelg Highway has relived the horror of his own experience at the crossroads earlier this year.

Bill Cearns learnt of the accident from a relative who lives in the area and said his incident happened in April when he was towing a Winnebago on the Casterton-Dartmoor Road.

He said he saw a sign advising him to slow down but that there were no signs warning of the approaching crossroads nor were there stop signs.

Mr Cearns said he did slow down but was halfway through the intersection before realising that he should have given way.

“There could have easily been another vehicle coming the other way,” he said.

“I was so disturbed by the incident, that I turned around and went back and had another look at the intersection to see if I had missed a stop sign, but I hadn’t.

“I took some photos and wrote to the Department of Transport about it.

“I received a phone call back and was told they would look into it.

“Obviously nothing has been done and these poor people have had an accident.”

In his letter to the department, Mr Cearns said “a give way sign is … obviously present, but positioned right on the junction of the intersection and no way to stop within that distance.

“(I am) one very lucky person to be alive today, so I would like to make some suggestions to be certain this doesn’t happen to anyone else in the future.

“My recommendations would be to replace the inverted triangle signs (that no one knows the meaning of) with obvious crossroad signs.

“I would also put two large “Stop Signs” right on the verge of the intersection.

“When coming from the other direction I would also use “Cross Road” and “Stop Signs” as the approach isn’t as bad, but the road headed towards Casterton curves away out of sight and is impossible to see if travelling in a camper van, if a car is approaching at high speed.”

Department of Transport and Planning (DTP) executive director, Barwon South West and Grampians, Michael Bailey said that following any major crashes, road safety experts from DTP undertake detailed assessments of the road environment, including signage.

In considering signage, DTP takes into consideration roadside clutter, driver distraction, competition for attention with other signs and other factors when making any decisions.

“The safety of everyone travelling on our roads is always our priority,” Mr Bailey said.

 “Our experts are continually looking at ways to make our network safer for everyone, including whether appropriate signage is in place.

 “We encourage the community to report any concerns about the condition of the arterial road network by calling 133 778.”

The Spectator reported on Saturday, November 9, that Casterton CFA crews had to use jaws of life to extricate a male driver aged in his 50s from his Landcruiser after it crashed with a twin cab ute at the bad intersection at around 8.15am on Wednesday, November 6.

A man in his 50s was transported by road ambulance to Mount Gambier and Districts Health Service in a stable condition with an upper body injury.

The other driver, also a man in his 50s, was airlifted to The Alfred Hospital in a stable condition with upper body injuries.

An investigation into how that accident occurred is ongoing.