A Canberra father's morning school run ended in a costly collision and a unique battle with bureaucracy, after he employed artificial intelligence to argue his case.
The Crash and the Costly Aftermath
On a typical June morning, a 35-year-old IT specialist from Harrison was driving his child to school. As he approached the intersection of Flemington Road and Sandford Street in Mitchell, his Skoda Octavia collided with the vehicle in front at the light-rail crossing.
While insurance claims were lodged by both drivers, the Harrison resident was left $1100 out of pocket in excess fees. His vehicle was stranded in a workshop for four months awaiting European spare parts, turning a simple commute into a lengthy ordeal.
An AI-Powered Defence
Despite the rear-end nature of the collision, the driver – who asked to remain anonymous – insisted he was not fully at fault. He argued that traffic signals, influenced by the nearby light rail, operated in an "erratic fashion" that made the accident almost inevitable.
Drawing on his professional expertise, he fed dashcam footage from the incident into AI software for analysis. "The results clearly indicated that the lights were changing in an erratic fashion and quickly, making it hard for drivers," he stated. The AI report suggested the lights changed in less than 10 seconds because two light-rail trains arrived at the intersection simultaneously.
Government Response and a Bureaucratic Maze
An ACT government spokesperson defended the intersection's design, confirming that light-rail vehicles receive automatic priority. "Approaching light rail vehicles receive priority at the intersection, and this will on occasions limit the green light time for motorists to a minimum," the spokesperson said, noting the setup was consistent with standard practice.
Armed with his AI-generated evidence, the driver attempted to lodge a public liability claim against the government. However, he described hitting a bureaucratic wall. "I went to Access Canberra with my AI explanation, only to be told that while they manage ACT roads, they don't handle traffic signals," he explained. Frustrated by the process, he has since abandoned the claim.
A History of Incidents and Current Safety Ranking
The intersection has a recorded history of crashes. ACT government statistics show 16 collisions occurred there between 2018 and 2024, with two resulting in minor injuries. The light rail began operations in the area in 2019.
Despite this, the government uses a data-driven system to prioritise road improvements, and the Flemington Road and Sandford Street junction does not rank within the top 300 priority intersections in the territory. A spokesperson added that its safety performance is better than other similar intersections on the network, and there are no current plans to adjust the traffic light sequencing.
