New Midland Highway black ice detectors seven years too late for Tori

On Tuesday, Roads and TAC Minister Jaala Pulford announced the installation of new electronic black ice detecting devices which will come into operation on the notorious road by the end of this week.

For former Sebastopol couple Matthew and Kelly Kurz, who are now based in Geelong, the road is one they still avoid to this day.

READ MORE: Black Ice warning after family heartbreak

"The hurt is still there, even though it's been seven years," Mr Kurz said.

"Within six months of Tori's accident, it was promised there would be upgrades to the road with centre barriers, it should never have taken this long.

"We avoid the area as much as possible, we had some plans for a plaque or a stone, but we're getting to the point now where we're getting to bit too old now."

One of the new electronic signs will be installed at the very spot where Ms Kurz lost her life on July 9, 2013.

That week had been a particularly bad one with black ice causing a number of serious crashes across the region, culminating in Ms Kurz's death.

Ms Kurz was 20-years-old at the time and was driving from Creswick to Ballarat when she hit black ice the hill outside what is now the RACV Goldfields Resort.

Her car slid on the ice, across in front of another vehicle travelling towards Creswick.

Mr and Mrs Kurz have long fought for the installation of wire barriers on the centre median strip where the overtaking lane becomes a single lane.

"If the barriers had have been in place, she would have slid straight into the barrier and bounced off," Mr Kurz said.

READ MORE: State government pledges money for Midland Highway upgrade

"It's good to know that something is being done, even though it's taken far too long."

Mr Kurz said the family had moved to Ballarat from Echuca and while they were aware of heavy frosts, black ice was not something they come across in northern Victoria.

"We had no idea about how slippery the roads can get," Mr Kurz said. "People say, Tori was a P plater, but it had been a terrible week, there had been a few accidents.

"It's not so much the driver's experience, even colleagues who spoke to us said they had no idea about how dangerous black ice was they said.

"It's something we live with everyday, it's not just a single accident, it has such an impact on every part of your life, we still tear up when we think about it."

Ms Pulford said the ice detector systems would be installed near the Kennedys Road intersection at Mount Rowan and also at the position near the resort.

She said the system uses infrared cameras to monitor the road surface for the presence of water or ice, and remotely activates a warning light to alert drivers to potential hazards.

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"The roads around Ballarat are prone to black ice, which is why we're investing in this technology to provide drivers travelling on the busy Midland Highway with warning when it is detected," she said.

"It's part of a major package of upgrades we're delivering on the Midland Highway between Ballarat and Creswick to ensure this key route is safer."

If you do hit black ice, drivers should avoid any sudden swerving as regardless of what speed you are doing, you will lose control.

Ideally in a black ice-prone area, you should slow to around 40km/h, but even at that speed, you are susceptible to going off the road.

The state government is spending nearly $15 million on its Midland Highway package which includes the already completed roundabout at the Western Freeway interchange, the new roundabout which is being installed at Kennedys Road, Mount Rowan and new wire barriers.

The damp conditions have caused a delay with the Kennedys Road road roundabout which will now not be resumed until September at the earliest.

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