Emergency services are pleading with motorists to take more care on the roads after a deadly start to the year in the Goulburn Valley.
Some 27 lives were lost on our region’s roads last year, with 12 deaths so far in 2023 — not including two fatalities on New Year’s Eve.
Victoria Police, paramedics, firefighters, State Emergency Service and search and rescue members, community leaders and more assembled at DECA in Shepparton on Wednesday, February 22.
It’s rare for those organisations to be at the same place without a serious accident being involved.
All of them pleaded with drivers to make their meetings less common by preventing serious crashes and collisions.
Victoria Police Superintendent Shane Cashman, the top cop in the Goulburn Valley, said emergency services were launching Operation Travel Safe, involving community awareness and education, a social media campaign and engaging with drivers to inform them of risks on the road.
“The effects of trauma are wide-ranging, from people who go to the scene to people who have to look after families of deceased and injured loved ones,” Supt Cashman said.
“The main cause of serious crashes are inattention, drugs, alcohol and speed.
“It’s been a horrific start to 2023 for the community on the road.”
He urged people to “take responsibility” behind the wheel and “slow down”.
The majority of deaths this year have come from people who died within 100km of where they lived or worked, indicating fatal crashes did not only involve people unfamiliar with the roads.
“Please be aware of what’s in your system before you drive,” Supt Cashman said.
He said people across all age and community groups had been involved in crashes.
Ethnic Council of Shepparton and District strategic engagement co-ordinator for the Goulburn region Sam Atukorala said it was “quite challenging” to get some new arrivals to the region used to the road.
“Shepparton has been a destination for multicultural people for a number of decades now ... driving is a skill that people need to have for them to be dropping off the kids or visiting their families or going to work.
“Some of the experienced drivers still need to actually have that education to know what their role on the road is in their new country.”
Community leader Uncle Bobby Nicholls also spoke, talking about the impact of crashes on the community and warning cars were “lethal weapons”.
“We’ve had some horrific incidents in Shepparton but also in the outer region as well, and one of the things I’ve seen with those accidents is that it has a ripple effect on a lot of people,” he said.
“The Aboriginal community in Shepparton is only 7000 people or so, and the impact that has on families and communities is big.
“My message to the Aboriginal community here in the Goulburn Murray region is if you don’t have a licence, don’t drive, and if you do have one, don’t drive when you’ve been affected by drugs or alcohol.”
Road Safe Goulburn Valley’s Bill Winters has spent 13 years with road safety programs, after being involved in a serious accident nearly 50 years ago.
“I'm fortunate to be here today,” he said.
“We talked about the ripple effect that happens within the community (after an accident), and I saw that firsthand with my family and friends, albeit a long time ago.”
Mr Winters said victims of crashes weren’t the only people affected.
“We’ve heard today from so many first responders and members of our local community, no first responder is unaffected by road trauma — either an instant or a cumulative effect,” he said.