For the past three years, Alliance Towing Mittagong managing director/tow truck driver Derek Smith has attended many crashes throughout the Wingecarribee Shire.

Mr Smith has identified what he considers to be the three most dangerous roads in the Southern Highlands

He said Old South Road, the Illawarra Highway and the Old Hume Highway were hotspots, and he attended crashes on at least one of those roads every week.

Speeding and collisions with wildlife were two of the biggest factors in crashes, according to Mr Smith.

“We’ve been to a few fatalities. That tends to involve speeding,” he said.

“There’s not too many days that go by that we don’t do an accident,” he said.

“That doesn’t always mean it’s driver error, sometimes it’s issues with wildlife.”

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Mr Smith said crashes happened both day and night, and he has attended more crashes on highways than other roads.

The tow truck driver said crashes involving wildlife were more common during the night and in the early hours of the morning.

According to NSW Police, two thirds of all fatal collisions occur in rural areas in NSW.

Country residents have a fatality rate per 100,000 population more than four times that of their metro counterparts. 

Mr Smith, who is out on the road every day, believes distracted drivers are a major problem.

“There’s no question people get distracted. Mobiles are a major issue,” he said.

“It’s not uncommon to see a girl pulled up at traffic lights doing their make-up.”

At several crashes, Mr Smith said a driver has reached over to pick up an item such as a drink and has ended up in an accident.

He urged Highlands motorists to put safety first, stick to the speed limit and follow the road rules.

“[Crashes] can happen so fast. One minute someone is driving, the next minute they’ve hit a tree,” he said.

“I used to live in Sydney and it was a busy. We live in the best place in the world, people need to take their time.”