There have been five fatal collisions in the south-west, with three of those involving single vehicles.

Crashes near Timboon, Mortlake and Hamilton have all involved just one vehicle.

Across the state police say they are determined to turn around a shocking start to the year on the roads with a statewide enforcement effort to be conducted over the Labour Day long weekend.

Commencing on Friday, Victoria Police's Operation Arid will targeting high-risk driving behaviour and non-compliance in an effort to reduce road trauma.

It comes as Victoria recorded 68 lives lost 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.

Statistics shows more than half of this year's rural road fatalities resulted from single-vehicle collisions, with 80 per cent involving vehicles leaving the road and colliding with a roadside object - predominately trees.

Police say the concerning trend is being overwhelmingly caused by minor forms of non-compliance, rather than extreme driving behaviour.

It suggests simple mistakes behind the wheel are leading to catastrophic consequences.

Speed, distraction, fatigue and not wearing a seatbelt are major contributors to single-vehicle fatal collisions.

All such behaviours will be targeted during this weekend's 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 last five years.

Victoria Police Assistant Commissioner Road Policing Glenn Weir said police knew the Labour Day long weekend was a busy period for events and a popular time to travel.

"So we're anticipating lots of Victorians hitting the roads over the coming days," he said.

"We'll be out with our full contingent of police vehicles to ensure everyone is doing their bit to keep themselves and all other road users safe.

"It's been a shocking start to the year on our roads - particularly on our rural roads. 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."

The assistant commissioner said all drivers needed to play their part.

"That means getting back to basics behind the wheel - slow down, put down the mobile phone and pay attention to road signs, other road users and surroundings," he said.

"March is historically a high-risk month for road trauma and we cannot afford complacency on our roads. Complacency is the true contributor to road trauma."

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