Victoria Police has pleaded with motorists to take care on regional roads following a massive spike in lives lost on rural roads this year, but the opposition has slammed the Victorian Government for the state of regional roads.
The latest figures listed 24 lives lost in collisions on rural roads as of January 30, a 64 per cent increase on the five-year average for January.
Shockingly of the 24 lives lost on rural roads, 21 resided in regional locations or worked in regional areas, and 18 of the 21 deaths happened less than 100km from the person’s residence.
The Goulburn Valley and the wider region have been hit particularly hard, with four people dying in a devastating crash at Pine Lodge in early January, plus fatal crashes in Lancaster, Kialla and Creighton’s Creek.
Crashes near Rutherglen, Tallarook and Tatong have also resulted in deaths.
The deaths follow two others on New Year’s Eve, with Longwood’s Jaye Munn dying following a motorcycle crash on the Barmah-Shepparton Rd, Kaarimba, and another woman dying in a two-car collision at Yarroweyah.
Since January 30, another two fatal accidents have occurred at Yalca and Katandra West.
Police said more than 85 per cent of rural fatalities occurred on high-speed rural roads, with speed limits between 80km/h and 110km/h.
Victoria Police assistant commissioner of road policing Glenn Weir said it had been a “terrible start to the year” on the roads and urged regional people to take care.
“It is a common misconception that it’s not locals losing their lives on country roads,” Asst Comm Weir said.
“That couldn’t be further from the truth.
“The reality is, people residing in regional areas make up the majority of those killed on rural roads.
“Distraction and basic road user error is significantly contributing to regional lives lost.
“It just shows a simple lapse in concentration can have catastrophic consequences.
“It is imperative all road users remain alert, particularly when travelling on high-speed rural roads.”
There were eight deaths in five days between February 12 and 16 last year – with six of those eight fatalities occurring on rural roads.
Police are determined to avoid a repeat of this concerning rural road trauma trend, with highway patrol deployments to be bolstered to regional areas throughout February, ahead of a statewide operation over the Labour Day long weekend in March.
Member for Northern Victoria Wendy Lovell pushed the onus back on the “deplorable” state of Victoria’s roads during the reopening of parliament last week.
Ms Lovell said the government hadn’t prioritised the safety of regional roads after scrapping the Country Roads and Bridges program in 2014.
“The practice of not repairing potholes properly has led to sections of roads in my electorate being extremely dangerous and I call on the minister to articulate her plan and provide the substantial funding required to fix regional Victoria’s deplorable road network,” Ms Lovell said.
“Road users must ensure their cars are roadworthy but sadly our roads are not roadworthy because of the chronic lack of funding from the Andrews Government since their election in 2014.”