Kempsey Road was reclassified as a local road in the Armidale Local Government Area in 2007, while Kempsey's Armidale Road kept its regional classification and the extra funding the classification drew. 

So, Armidale Road is now a reasonable regional road that could do with a little bit of work. On Kempsey Road, signs at both ends warn drivers towing caravans and trailers not to use it. 

The majority of people at the meeting owned and regularly used trailers and/or trucks on the road. They were uncertain if they were covered by insurance in case of an accident.

Shane Booth, who owned about 4000 acres of land and moved a lot of stock, farm fodder, bulldozers and farm machinery, said he remained uncertain about his insurance status.

"I'm not sure and can't get a commitment," he said.

"It's possible that people who come into this area could be uninsured. We can't give a commitment. There's a grey area and I'm not willing to prompt people to come past signs on my behalf.

"They need to find out from their own insurance company; and people who travel here as campers need to find out whether they are covered by insurance too."

One man told the meeting his insurance company had assured him he was covered.

"But they won't put it in writing," he said.

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Many at the meeting simply did not know if their policy covered their business for a truck or trailer accident on the road. 

Council struggled for years with annual attention from a grader to maintain a thin ribbon of single lane, gravel road with no safety barriers or speed signage. Rain causes wash-outs and mudslides because of the poor drainage that then sees road crews spent a lot of time stabilising and clearing the mess.

Locals would like to see the warning signs disappear, council would like to pull them down, but has not got the funding for improvements to make that happen. 

The meeting suggested changing the wording on the signs to satisfy the insurance companies, but Cr Murray pointed out that there had to be safety considerations for other motorists too.

"These days a lot of holiday makers just look at their Sat Navs, and say 'This road looks like a good shortcut across to Armidale'. By the time they find out it isn't they have reached the point of no return on Kempsey Road," he said.

Lower Creek resident Felix Bridge said there were accidents happening that sometimes went unreported because the area still had no mobile service.

"They can't ring 000. So, accidents happen and they go and knock up one of the locals, and we pull them back onto the road, say 'There, there, nevermind.', give them what assistance we can and off they go again," he said. 

"There are also accidents that don't happen. When you come around a corner and there's a tourist coming at you at 60-70 kilometres per hour and you both stop a metre or so from each other."

The meeting had few illusions about getting any big road improvements, but seemed determined to have something done to at least guarantee their business insurance policies.

"We need to be united in this and write letters to our politicians," one person said.

"We need to be united. Realistically we've got to take baby steps. A tarred road through here is a dream, a good one admittedly, but we've got to be realistic."

However, with more anglers, campers and caravans coming into the region and the road's safety reputation possibly effecting their income, Lower Creek locals are beginning to wonder when that something will be done.