Bruce Highway bus crash 'could have been prevented' if this one thing was done

A horror bus crash that killed three women and injured 27 others could have been prevented if the highway had received vital works, the region's mayor has said.

A Greyhound bus and a 4WD towing a caravan collided on the Bruce Highway at Gumlu, in northern Queensland, at about 11am on Sunday.

The crash claimed the lives of 56-year-old Townsville woman, Emma 'Alli' Sailor, and two German women aged in their 20s and 30s.

The coach allegedly drifted into the opposite lane and collided with the caravan, which was being towed by an elderly couple - who were uninjured.

The bus, which had 33 passengers onboard, was travelling between Brisbane and Townsville and left Rockhampton at 2am that morning.

Police will investigate whether fatigue played a role in the fatal crash.

Whitsundays Mayor Ry Collins said the crash site was 'one of the worst sections of road in the country' that 'continues to receive a lack of investment into upgrading'.

'I think audible centre lines and also really having that space in between on a road like that, where you do only have a single lane in either way,' he told the Courier Mail.

'From the look of the impact there, having some more space between the vehicles would definitely have, I'd imagine, probably help the situation.'

Mr Collins said the section of highway where the accident occurred has no shoulder or overtaking lanes between Bowen and Ayr, about a 116km stretch.

He said the road also became littered with potholes after heavy rain

'I always see significant investment come into the Bruce Highway, particularly in South East Queensland, but for whatever reason this section … continues to be forgotten. It's something that we need to need to improve. Otherwise there is the chance of future accidents like this occurring,' he said.  

Australian Road Safety Foundation chief executive Russell White told the publication the crash site looked like a 'prime fatigue' area. 

He warned there was little room for error on the single-lane highway and that it would be safer if the road was divided into two lanes. 

'If a driver has either lost concentration or they've suffered a fatigue incident, then it's millimetres away from something happening,' he said. 

He said the black spot, which are specific road locations where crashes are occurring, needed to be put on a priority list for funding. 

Queensland Premier Steven Miles said the government would continue to invest 'billions and billions' into improving the Bruce Highway. 

'The job of investing in the Bruce will never be done,' he said.

'We'll be spending billions and billions of dollars forever on the Bruce because it's what connects our major cities.'

The Bruce Highway stretches more than 1,670km from Brisbane to Cairns and is a major transportation corridor for freight, local communities and other motorists.

For years, the road has been plagued with safety concerns, congestion, flooding and funding issues and has claimed hundreds of lives.

From 2020 to 2023, the Bruce Highway claimed the lives of 134 people. Between the start of this year and April, nine people have been killed.