Cobram and surrounding areas suffered 13 deaths in 2023, making up 4.3 per cent of Victoria’s 2023 road fatalities.
There were 296 lives lost on Victorian roads in 2023 compared with 241 in 2022.
Many of the deaths were on regional roads.
Cobram Highway Patrol Sergeant William Dockery called the Cobram road fatality statistic a shocking tragedy.
“I’m absolutely crushed that 13 people were killed in our area,” he said.
“The toll on our community and our police is enormous, and once experienced, you can’t withdraw from that. It’s there for ever.”
Sgt Dockery said the local police and the highway patrol were committed to preventing a repeat of 2023.
The biggest single-road fatality incident within the Cobram area was in April when five people died at the Labuan Rd and Murray Valley Hwy intersection.
The state’s 2023 road toll has only been exceeded in 2008, when 303 people were killed.
Police identified single acts of non-compliance, or people making basic driving errors, as having contributed to more than half of fatalities in 2023.
These are behaviours such as low-range speeding, lower-level drink-driving, failing to obey road signs, and distraction, such as using a mobile phone while driving.
At least 10 per cent of fatal collisions had one or more vehicle occupants failing to wear a seatbelt.
Extreme behaviours such as driving without a licence, travelling at extreme speeds, high-range drink-driving, illicit drug-driving or often a combination of these behaviours contributed to about a quarter of fatal collisions in 2023.
Victorian road policing Assistant Commissioner Glenn Weir described the high number of road deaths in 2023 as devasting.
“It’s been a horror year on Victoria’s roads — the severity of collisions has been especially tragic. Simple and avoidable mistakes have resulted in catastrophic outcomes,” he said.
“The sheer number of lives lost has been devastating, but we must never forget that these are not numbers but people whose family and friends will mourn their loss for years to come.”
As 2024 begins, Sgt Dockery is asking for all drivers to take care on the roads and be mindful of others.
“Be patient, understand that traffic volumes are higher, people can make mistakes, and we need to make really good decisions on how to respond to those circumstances,” he said.
List of fatalities within Cobram area.
December 31 – Yarroweyah- A woman died in a crash between two cars at the intersection of Labuan Rd and Fowlers and MacArthur Rds.
February 7 – Yalca- A truck driver died after a crash between a car and a truck on the Waaia-Bearii Rd.
April 20 — Strathmerton- Five people dead, including Cobram’s Debbie Markey, 60, and four international workers — three women and a man who were all aged in their 20s and from Asian countries — Pin-Yu Wang, Hsin-Yu Chen, Wai Yan Lam and Zih-Yao Chen - after a crash between a car, ute and truck at the intersection of Labuan Rd and the Murray Valley Hwy.
May 4 — Yarroweyah- One man died after a car and truck collided head-on on the Benalla-Tocumwal Rd.
June 2 – Nathalia- A woman has died in a head-on crash between a car and truck on the Murray Valley Hwy at Nathalia, just near the Barmah- Shepparton Rd intersection.
July 29 – Koonoomoo- Police are investigating the death of a man who was found injured on a road in Cobram. Emergency services were called to Cobram-Koonoomoo Rd just before 9pm after a passer-by located a seriously injured man on the road. CPR was started, but the man died at the scene.
August 23 – Yarroweyah- A 78-year-old Yarroweyah man was found dead after his vehicle crashed into a channel on the Murray Valley Hwy at Burramine.
September 16 – Wunghnu- A South Australian man died in a fatal crash on the Goulburn Valley Hwy at Wunghnu.
September 26 – Strathmerton- Single vehicle into a tree on the dirt road, Bourchiers Rd, at Strathmerton.One dead