Seven serious accidents in just five weeks involving bike riders, two of them fatal, have prompted a police call for people to be more vigilant on the region's roads.
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South-west police road safety manager Senior Sergeant Chris Asenjo said bike riders made up 19 per cent of all road trauma, a massive number considering the comparatively small number of cyclists on the road.
Since January 23, there have been seven serious accidents involving bikes, and since Christmas there have been three fatal accidents involving bike riders, Senior Sergeant Asenjo said.
He said seven accidents in five weeks sent a very clear message to the community. "All road users need to be vigilant. We all need to do more," he said.
"This is about educating all road users to the risks posed to them and improving road user behaviour, it's about us all being more vigilant."
A 10-year-old Portland girl was taken to Melbourne's Royal Children's Hospital in a critical condition with head injuries after a collision in Portland on March 3.
On February 23, an 18-year-old Portland rider on a motorised bike died after a collision with a road train.
The day before, a child broke a leg after getting trapped under a vehicle in Hamilton.
And the previous day a cyclist suffered a suspected broken wrist after being knocked off her bike at a Kepler Street roundabout in Warrnambool.
On February 14, an Allansford teenager died on his way to cricket training after a collision with a cement truck.
Ten days before that, a Timboon man suffered serious damage, including spinal and head injuries, after an accident involving a P-plater. Police investigations into that collision are continuing.
And on January 23, a middle aged cyclist was hospitalised after suffering broken ribs while riding in Port Fairy.
Senior Sergeant Asenjo said he wanted parents and carers to have conversations with children about bike and road safety.
"Our kids are dying and getting seriously injured. So far this year 19 per cent of our road trauma has involved bike riders," he said.
"That's a massive statistic when you consider the comparatively low percentage cyclists that make up of the total traffic on the roads.
"Another 15 per cent of accident have involved heavy vehicles. The combination of riders and heavy vehicles will lead to significant and tragic road trauma."
The road safety chief said that if a cyclist was involved in a collision the risks were very high that the rider would suffer injuries.
"You can be talking about a two or three tonne vehicle, sometimes more, being involved in a collision with a bike rider," he said.
"The risks for the bike rider are very high to extreme. The message is be vigilant, cars about bikes and cyclists about vehicles."
Senior Sergeant Asenjo said cyclists had to obey road rules and 198 tickets were issued to bike riders in the south-west last year.
He said the majority of those fines were for not wearing bike helmets - a $201 penalty notice.
"Some of the penalties are on par with the fines for drivers. Failing to have a bell or safety equipment, such as a light or reflectors, is also a $201 fine and the penalty for failing to obey traffic lights is $403 ," Senior Sergeant Asenjo said.
"More care is needed by all road users if we are to reduce road trauma. We need to be having conversations and being vigilant," he said.
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