VICTORIA is going backwards when it comes to the state’s road toll and that is a worrying sign for the state’s emergency services as we head in to what is a high-risk period over Christmas and the New Year.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Sadly, after eight years of falling road tolls, 2014 has gone in the opposite direction. This year’s road toll is 240, 20 more than last year, and there are still a few weeks to go.
Experienced police reckon there will be a further 10 deaths on our roads in that time, making it a truly dreadful year on Victoria’s roads and a harrowing one for the relatives of victims and of course the emergency service personnel who have to deal with the carnage.
Why is it then that after so many years of a downward trend we have begun to trend upwards this year?
Police say there are a number of factors, but one that stands out is the use of drugs. More people are driving under the influence of legal and illegal substances and as a result are causing havoc on the roads.
Add to that an increasing number of crashes involving elderly drivers and the story just gets worse.
Tough messaging from the Transport Accident Commission has worked in the past but there is a view that drivers have become immune to the shock-tactics of graphic television advertisements.
What can be done?
For starters, we need to have a serious look at older drivers.
Why is it that drivers over a certain age are not re-tested every couple of years in order to ensure they still have what it takes to drive safely? Yes, it would be a tough call for a government to make but it might save a life or two.
Secondly, we need to give some consideration to the condition of many of our rural roads. So many of them are in dire need of repair, making them dangerous and unreliable.
In addition, we must look at new ways to drive the safe driving message home to all drivers, not just the young.
Let’s hope this year has just been a blip in what has otherwise been a magnificent effort over the past two decades in reducing deaths on our roads.
Sadly, after eight years of falling road tolls, 2014 has gone in the opposite direction. This year’s road toll is 240, 20 more than last year, and there are still a few weeks to go.
Experienced police reckon there will be a further 10 deaths on our roads in that time, making it a truly dreadful year on Victoria’s roads and a harrowing one for the relatives of victims and of course the emergency service personnel who have to deal with the carnage.
Why is it then that after so many years of a downward trend we have begun to trend upwards this year?
Police say there are a number of factors, but one that stands out is the use of drugs. More people are driving under the influence of legal and illegal substances and as a result are causing havoc on the roads.
Add to that an increasing number of crashes involving elderly drivers and the story just gets worse.
Tough messaging from the Transport Accident Commission has worked in the past but there is a view that drivers have become immune to the shock-tactics of graphic television advertisements.
What can be done?
For starters, we need to have a serious look at older drivers.
Why is it that drivers over a certain age are not re-tested every couple of years in order to ensure they still have what it takes to drive safely? Yes, it would be a tough call for a government to make but it might save a life or two.
Secondly, we need to give some consideration to the condition of many of our rural roads. So many of them are in dire need of repair, making them dangerous and unreliable.
In addition, we must look at new ways to drive the safe driving message home to all drivers, not just the young.
Let’s hope this year has just been a blip in what has otherwise been a magnificent effort over the past two decades in reducing deaths on our roads.