Mount Darragh Road is overrepresented in the shire’s road fatality statistics. Photo: Google Maps.
So far 2025 has been a dreadful year for road fatalities in Bega Valley Shire. After one fatality in 2024, there have been seven lives lost on roads in the shire already, including two on Mount Darragh Road, according to preliminary data from Transport for NSW (TfNSW).
Unfortunately the stretch of road that runs between Merimbula and Wyndham is overrepresented in Bega Valley Shire’s road fatalities for the past 12 years.
TfNSW ‘s Centre for Road Safety provided Region with statistics on fatalities on the road for the 10 years between 2013 and 2023.
Of the 15 lives lost on roads in Bega Valley Shire in the five years from 2013 to 2017, four were lost on Mount Darragh Road.
In the five years from 2018 to 2023, there were seven fatalities in the shire, one of which occurred on Mount Darragh Road.
During that period TfNSW reduced the speed limit on the road from the 100 km/h rural default to 60 km/h for about 20 kilometres.
The rate of fatal crashes eased after the speed limit was reduced in 2020. Bega Valley Shire Council also received a Safer Roads grant for the road that year.
The speed limit change was the result of a larger speed zone review between Pambula and Bombala. TfNSW did a comprehensive review of the speed limit following concerns raised by residents and the high crash rate which resulted in injuries.
Recently though, Mount Darragh Road has begun appearing regularly in headlines about fatalities in the shire.
In October 2024 a man believed to be in his 40s died on a Wednesday afternoon when his BMW convertible left the road and hit a group of large trees. This fatality is excluded from TfNSW’s data because it did not meet its reporting criteria.
Six months later a man believed to be in his 70s died at the scene of a two-car collision that occurred around 7 pm on a Friday. The driver of the second car, a 77-year-old man was taken to the South East Regional Hospital (SERH) in Bega for mandatory testing and treatment of his injuries.
The most recent fatal crash happened around 10:30 am on Monday 21 July. A car with two males believed to be in their 20s left the roadway. It went down an embankment and struck a tree.
The front-seat passenger died at the scene while the man believed to be the driver was treated at the SERH for suspected internal injuries. He was later airlifted to Canberra Hospital in a stable condition.
Mount Darragh Road embankment after remedial works were undertaken. Photo: Supplied.
Mount Darragh Road runs for 57 kilometres between Merimbula and Cathcart and crosses Wyndham.
The total ascent/descent along the road is 1368 metres, with 9.8 kilometres of road steeper than five per cent.
Council said that in 2023 co-funding between TfNSW and council enabled the appointment of a dedicated road safety officer. In collaboration with TfNSW the officer has undertaken various targeted road safety programs in road safety awareness and crash prevention efforts. Targeted education campaigns, community workshops and safety initiatives addressing key risk factors such speeding, fatigue and impaired driving have been developed and delivered.
Council also continues to actively partner with the state and federal governments to secure external grant funds to improve its road infrastructure, including for additional road safety features.
Council recently made a submission to the parliamentary inquiry into interventions to reduce road trauma in regional NSW caused by speeding, fatigue, drink and drug driving.
Continued access to funding programs such as Safer Roads and Black Spot, and the Road Emergency Rebuilding and Resilience Fund is critically important for council to address road safety challenges across the region.
Mount Darragh Road is popular with motorcyclists.
Greg Yager is owner of adventure motorcycle riding company RideAdv. The 57-year-old has been riding since he was four years old.
He said the three biggest things they talked about and taught riders was keeping to the left, concentrating and riding to your limits.
He said he could not stress enough the importance of staying on the left-hand side of the road even if there had not been any oncoming traffic for 30 minutes.
Mr Yager said sometimes motorcyclists played with their mobile phones, zoned out, or started thinking about putting up photos on Instagram instead of focusing on the road.
Riders needed to ride to their limit. “Don’t try to keep up or do what others are doing,” Mr Yager said.
He said since COVID there had been unprecedented numbers of bicycles, motorbikes and four-wheel drives in the bush.
