Newsroom

1 March 2023
Rising concern on rural road toll

The troubling number of lives lost on rural roads has prompted Victoria Police to issue a wakeup call to drivers.

Police suspect driver error, resulting from distraction and inattention, contributed significantly to rural road fatalities in the first month of this year

The latest police intelligence shows that there were 24 lives lost from collisions on rural roads as of 30 January, a 64 per cent increase on the five-year average for fatal regional collisions in January.

Of those 24 lives lost on rural roads, 21 resided in regional locations and two worked in regional centres.

Eighteen of the 21 fatal collisions occurred within 100 km of the deceased’s residence.

More than 85 per cent of rural fatalities occurred on high-speed rural roads, with speed limits between 80km/h – 110km/h.

Police have bolstered highway patrol deployments in regional areas throughout February, ahead of a state-wide operation over the Labour Day long weekend in March.

Assistant Commissioner Road Policing, Glenn Weir said: “It is a common misconception that it’s not locals losing their lives on country roads. 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.

“It’s been a terrible start to the year on our roads, and we’re entering another particularly high-risk period. Please don’t be complacent and think that road trauma can’t happen to you, because a split-second of inattention is all it takes.

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