INTERNATIONAL tourists who believe they can fit in a long trip taking in the Great Ocean Road in a day are putting themselves at risk, according to tourism authorities.
The manager of tourism services at Warrnambool City Council, Peter Abbott, said people from overseas often mistakenly believed they could make the six-hour trip to Warrnambool in two hours.
Two Singaporean tourists, a man and a woman, were killed and four others injured after their Tarago van rolled near Caramut yesterday morning on a trip from the Great Ocean Road to the Grampians. Two of the four injured were flown to hospitals in Melbourne.
The accident happened about 11 kilometres north of Caramut on the Glenthompson-Caramut Road about 10.30am.
Sergeant Kevin Garrett, of Mortlake police, said it appeared the Tarago drifted on to gravel on the roadside, corrected sharply to the other side and rolled several times before landing on its roof.
He said the tourists had been driving to the Grampians after travelling the Great Ocean Road the day before and staying overnight in Warrnambool.
The road is a narrow, one-lane back road heading to Glenthompson, some distance to the east from the Warrnambool-Penshurst Road usually taken by tourists travelling from Warrnambool to the Grampians.
Mr Abbott said the trip from Melbourne on the Great Ocean Road was a 250-kilometre journey. At times cars have to slow to 20-30 km/h, he said.
''Somebody from Singapore used to driving 100 kilometres thinks that the trip can be done in two hours.
''We always highlight to international guests the need to drive on the left hand side of the road and the need to take their time and to take breaks,'' Mr Abbott said.
They were encouraged from a tourism and a safety point of view to stay overnight in Warrnambool and pace themselves, he said.
The two injured tourists from yesterday's accident included a 25-year-old man with chest injuries who was being treated in The Alfred hospital.
A woman, aged about 30, with head, chest and leg injuries, was being treated in the Royal Melbourne Hospital.
The injured included a girl, 5, who received head cuts and was taken to South West Health Care at Warrnambool for treatment.
A 43-year-old man with head cuts and possible spinal injuries was also taken to South West Health Care. All are believed to be related.
An ambulance spokesman said the 43-year-old man was believed to be the girl's father.
The major collision investigation unit from Melbourne will investigate the cause of the crash and would determine whether speed was a factor, Sergeant Garrett said.
He said the accident was the first he knew of on the Glenthompson-Caramut Road.
But there had been an accident on the nearby Caramut-Chatsworth Road that also involved a tourist travelling from the Great Ocean Road to the Grampians.
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