The RACV has released results of its My Country Road survey with more than 7000 Victorians providing valuable input shining a light on the condition of regional roads state-wide.

The most dangerous intersection in regional Victoria was identified as the junction of the Midland Highway and Howard Street in Epsom, north of Bendigo.

And the Tylden-Woodend Road from Woodend to Tylden, used by many locals travelling to Melbourne, received the second highest number of complaints across the state.

Poor road conditions and pot holes rated among the top issues of concern with 64 per cent of participants identifying them as the primary safety issue, up from 46 per cent in 2021.

Potholes are a major safety risk for drivers as they try and avoid damaging their vehicles. Swerving to avoid a pothole at the last moment is dangerous as drivers may lose control of their vehicles or swerve into oncoming traffic.

Other roads that generated substantial concern were Kilmore Road from Monegeetta to Gisborne, and the Goulburn Valley Highway from Nagambie to Shepparton.

Overall, 14 per cent of participants supported ‘a lower or more appropriate speed limit’ as a measure to improve road safety.

That response rose to 56 per cent on the top 12 worst roads, highlighting that many Victorians believe reducing the speed on highly dangerous roads is an appropriate approach.

The RACV will use the data from the survey to encourage the state government and local councils to make commitments that deliver safer regional roads.

RACV Head of Policy James Williams said the data from the survey indicated that the condition of regional roads has become a major safety concern for Victorians.

“Over 7,000 Victorians have provided us with data about safety on our regional roads, with potholes or poor road condition being the number one safety issue,” Mr Williams said.

“As a safety advocate, it’s important that RACV closely examines what Victorians think are the factors contributing to unsafe road conditions, so we can provide that information to all levels of government and encourage action.”

An ugly spate of vandalism may have put Ballarat’s electric vehicle charging stations near Big W out of action for at least another month but it’s now expected that the well-used charge points will be back and operating from next month.

The RACV operates the Curtis Street charging points near Big W, and energy general manager Greg Edye has apologised for the inconvenience for residents and travellers.

The charger screens have been damaged and Mr Edye said in a statement that parts required for their repair are currently unavailable because the “company who provides them has gone into receivership”.

However, he said they will be upgrading and installing new chargers as well as CCTV for additional security next month.

It’s not the first time the heavily used Curtis Street EV charging station has been unusable because of vandalism since opening in the first quarter of 2020.

The charging points were also temporarily unable to be used in August and September last year and residents voiced concern over how long it takes for the stations to be repaired with local EV users calling for improved regulation of charge point maintenance.

The next closest RACV chargers are at the Creswick Goldfields Resort or drivers can use the Plugshare app to see locations of all public chargers, Mr Edye said.

When installed in 2020, Chargefox, who runs the software said the location was ideal because of the proximity to public bathrooms, shops and places to eat.

“This kind of vandalism is particularly mindless as those who engage in it are actually damaging themselves,” an EV driver who had been a regular user of the infrastructure told The Local.

“Efforts to counteract climate change, including the shift to EVs, are obviously in the best interests of everyone who lives on this planet.”