The State Government has reinforced its focus on reducing road trauma in the new year after the number of people killed on Victoria’s roads increased in 2022.
As the year ended, tragically 240 people lost their lives on Victorian roads – an increase on the 233 deaths last year, but the fourth lowest since TAC records began, including the pandemic-affected record low of 211 in 2020.
Sadly, motorists on regional roads remain a significant concern with 134 people dying in country areas compared with 119 in 2021 – while metropolitan road deaths dropped from 114 in 2021 to 106 in 2022.
More than two-thirds of regional fatalities occurred on 100-110km/h roads. Crashes on rural high-speed roads continue to be too frequent, where the combination of high speeds and motorists travelling longer distances mean consequences are often more severe when something goes wrong.
There was a decline in driver and passenger deaths (126 down from 147) – however, 27 per cent of people who died in a vehicle were not wearing a seatbelt. Sadly, vulnerable road users including motorcyclist (57 up from 43) and pedestrian (44 up from 29) fatalities increased year-on-year.
Disappointingly, poor driver behaviour, including speeding and drink or drug driving, continues to contribute to lives lost on the roads, together with a large proportion (40 per cent) of unauthorised motorcyclists.
In 2023, Victorians are once again urged to slow down, put the phone away, never drive drunk or on drugs, take adequate breaks when driving long distances, and be aware of pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists.
