Victoria Police have upped enforcement of road rules related to pedestrian safety in a new operation that will continue through to September.
Police are responding to a 56% lift in pedestrian fatalities this year over the same period last year.
Known as Operation Aware, the initiative will run in priority high-risk metro areas such as Melbourne’s CBD and the cities of Merri-bek, Port Phillip and Yarra, where lots of pedestrians intersect with other road users.
Those other road users include large numbers of people on bikes.
And yes, riders have already been issued infringement notices, principally for offences at traffic signals.
Some riders have a habit of checking for cars as they approach intersections, and blasting through the red light if the coast is clear.
The same goes for e-scooters and e-bike delivery riders, who seem to regard red lights as advisory only.
But all forget that pedestrians can have the a green light while bikes have the red, and people on foot deserve the same consideration from bike riders as we expect from drivers. Just stop.
That said, the evidence shows that bike riders and walkers get along just fine in our shared infrastructure, and conflict is extremely rare – we want to ensure this continues.
Police say May to August is historically the highest risk period for collisions involving pedestrians. Reduced visibility due to less daylight hours and inclement weather during winter are major contributing factors.
The cities of Melbourne, Glen Eira, Monash, Casey and Merri-bek recorded the highest number of pedestrian injury collisions from May to August between 2019 and 2023, with 76% per cent of collisions occurring in 40-60 km/h speed zones.
Analysis of this year’s fatalities has indicated that failing to give way, by both drivers and pedestrians, is the most common contributing factor to pedestrian deaths.
During Operation Aware, police will be on the lookout for vehicles failing to give way, as well as other behaviours that put pedestrians at risk, such as distraction, speeding, impaired driving and riding on the footpath.
45% of pedestrian deaths this year occured at mid-block (a section of road with no traffic lights or pedestrian crossing) and in response police will proactively engage with pedestrians and encourage the use of designated footpaths and crossings to help ensure their safety.
“This operation is about doing all we can to protect our most vulnerable road users – particularly as we’ve seen such a significant spike in pedestrian deaths this year," says Road Policing Assistant Commissioner Glenn Weir.
“Pedestrians have little to no protection, so when they’re involved in a collision with a vehicle, the consequences can be catastrophic.
“We’ve conducted thorough analysis to understand when, where and most importantly, why trauma involving pedestrians is occurring, and we’ll be priorisiting and addressing these issues during Operation Aware.
“This is not about levelling blame at anyone, this is about saving lives and reducing the amount of trauma on our roads," Weir says.
“We’ll be focusing on all road users and all behaviours that put pedestrians at risk of being involved in a collision – whether it’s failing to give way, distraction, speeding, impaired driving, riding on the footpath, or not using designated crossings.
“We want everyone to think about not only their own safety but how their behaviour can impact the safety of others."
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