Road death toll climbs in one state as police warn of concerning trend

An urgent road safety warning has been issued as police emphasise a “horrifying” increase in the number of deaths on the road. Police have issued an urgent appeal for drivers to exercise caution after six people died on Victorian roads in just 10 days. The deaths have brought the Victorian road toll up to 173 fatalities so far this year, which is on par with the number of deaths recorded at the same time last year. According to Victorian Police, driver impairment and excessive speed were the overall leading causes of fatal and serious injury collisions. Road Policing Assistant Commissioner Glenn Weir noted a concerning upward trend in motorcyclist road deaths, which have nearly doubled to 42 deaths this year compared to 23 deaths this time last year. “That is a really horrifying jump in trauma,” he said at a press conference on Saturday afternoon. Visibility, slippery conditions, inappropriate speed, incorrect safety wear and failing to give way have been recorded as factors in the high number of motorcyclist deaths. Commissioner Weir said there have been more fatal collisions this year than last year, but the same amount of lives have been lost. Last year was a “catastrophic year” for Victorian roads, with 296 deaths recorded. “If we keep continuing this trend that we’ve seen recently, we will exceed last year’s last 296, which was the worst in 15 years,” Commissioner Weir said. “We can’t accept that. Between now and the end of the year we’ll be absolutely working as hard as we can to keep that as low as possible, but this is a team effort. “We need everyone to be on board to help us otherwise more families are going to suffer the terrible trauma that a number of families have suffered in the last week or so.” The number of pedestrian deaths have also increased from 22 this time last year to 29. The grim figures come after a 66-year-old Reservoir man was killed following a collision in Preston on Monday. “I’m really concerned about where we’re heading going into the better weather coming up,” Commissioner Weir said. “A lot more events coming up, a lot more people out and about, and I’m really pleading with people using Victorian roads to consider the safety of themselves and other road users.” The commissioner said drivers can’t just “blame the weather” for the spike in road deaths over the last 10 days, adding “there’s no excuse”. “None of (the fatalities) have been caused by the conditions on the roads, which is (an excuse) that gets thrown at us all the time,” he said. “We look at that in every collision and that is not the case here, so people need to stop looking to blame other things and realise that they’re in control of the actions that can keep them safe. “We’re also seeing a continuing trend in terms of people not wearing seatbelts, which staggers me that people don’t wear seatbelts in this day and age.” Commissioner Weir urged drivers to slow down and be aware of their surroundings on the roads. “Everyone’s got a role to play in road safety … we have a big role to play, other government agencies have a big role to play, but the single person who has the biggest role to play is the person who is on the road behind the wheel,” he said.