Commencing on Friday, March 10, Victoria Police’s Operation Arid will run for four days, with police targeting high-risk driving behaviour and non-compliance to reduce road trauma.
Sixty-eight people have died on the roads in Victoria in the first 66 days of the year, 18 more than at the same time last year and a 45 per cent increase on the five-year average.
Police are especially concerned about a significant spike in lives lost on rural roads this year, with 42 deaths since January — a 57 per cent increase on the five-year average.
In the Goulburn Valley, 12 people died on the region’s roads in the first two months of 2023 — plus an additional two on New Year’s Eve — which is nearly half of the 2022 total of 27.
The total included four people who died in a single incident in Pine Lodge in January, who weren’t wearing seatbelts at the time of the crash.
Police said more than half of this year’s fatalities resulted from single-vehicle collisions, with two-thirds occurring on rural roads and 80 per cent of those involving vehicles leaving the road and colliding with a roadside object — predominantly trees.
Police said the concerning trend was being caused overwhelmingly by minor forms of non-compliance, rather than extreme driving behaviour.
Victoria Police Assistant Commissioner Road Policing Glenn Weir said the increase in fatalities suggested simple mistakes behind the wheel were leading to catastrophic consequences.
“It’s been a shocking start to the year on our roads — particularly on our rural roads,” Asst Comm Weir said.
“However, a lot of the trauma we’re experiencing, particularly those single-vehicle fatal collisions, is tragically avoidable.
“It’s up to all of us to turn this around, and while police will be out enforcing at every opportunity, we cannot achieve this alone.”
He said drivers needed to “do the basics behind the wheel”.
“Slow down, put down the mobile phone and pay attention to road signs, other road users and surroundings,” Asst Comm Weir said.
Speed, distraction, fatigue and not wearing a seatbelt are major contributors to single-vehicle fatal collisions.
All such behaviours will be targeted during Operation Arid.
March is historically the highest-risk month on Victoria’s roads, with collisions in both rural and metropolitan Melbourne peaking during the month over the past five years.
Operation Arid commences at 12:01am on Friday, March 10 and concludes at 23:59pm on Monday, March 13.
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