State Member for Northern Victoria Region Wendy Lovell has once again called for the government to do more for road safety.
In state parliament recently, Ms Lovell used the adjournment to highlight the need to improve safety on Victorian roads, highlighting both driver behaviour and the need for maintenance and upgrades of regional roads.
“Road maintenance is the first step to ensuring that Victorians have safe roads to drive on, but as many communities who have suffered tragic losses will tell you, it isn’t enough; safer driving campaigns are essential to safety on our roads, and I have called on the minister to increase both,” she said.
A government spokesperson said road conditions were not a primary contributor to crashes, but speed, drink and drug driving, not wearing seat belts and vehicle safety were.
Ms Lovell said many of her constituents believed driver behaviour had declined sharply post-COVID-19.
Ms Lovell is pushing for more effective public information campaigns from the TAC to combat the rising death toll.
“Many previous TAC campaigns have been confronting but also effective, and safety on the roads is not something we can tippy-toe around; the government must increase promotion of safer driving practices,” Ms Lovell said.
A spokesperson said that the government was investing in road safety upgrades as part of the $457.57 million Road Safety Program and that the TAC had launched numerous campaigns to change driver behaviour.
As of Sunday, November 12, there had been 258 lives lost on Victorian roads, with the majority being on regional roads.
In the Shepparton region, 39 lives have been lost in 30 crashes since New Year’s Eve.