SO FAR this month, eight people have lost their lives on Victorian Roads. The number of lives lost this year stands at 82 at the time of publishing (Apil 9, 2024) compared to 85 in 2023. Victorian Police are reminding road users to drive safely and to the conditions, particularly with the school holidays drawing to a close at the end of the week.
Victorian Police assistant commissioner of road policing command, Glenn Weir, has issued an urgent road safety alert amidst a concerning uptick in road fatalities over the last several weeks.
“Last year as we know, in 2023, we had 295 people killed on our roads, which was the highest in 15 years. We are at real risk of matching or exceeding that horrible figure unless we take urgent action to address the trauma we’re seeing on the roads,” he said.
While Victoria began the year under the five year average, since the start of March police have seen an “explosion of road trauma in Victoria.”
Mr Weir said, “We are really concerned about some of the behaviours we’re seeing, some of the lack of care and attention, some of the reckless behaviour that is causing unacceptable trauma on our roads.”
Police noted a significant increase in trauma involving vulnerable road users, particularly motorcyclists and pedestrians.
“With the end of daylight savings, we know we will see the weather getting darker earlier and people still potentially commuting in big enough numbers when it’s dark. Please take care. If you are pedestrian or a road user of any nature, you must be aware of the environment around you and please take due care and attention.
“If you are someone who is considering being someone who uses Victorian roads, think, act and look around. Be five minutes late, it’s better than not turning up at all.”
