2021 road toll: Horror year sees more than 200 lives lost in often ‘avoidable’ crashes

The state’s most deadly roads and regions have been revealed as Victoria mourns more than 200 lives lost as a result of horror crashes.

It can be easy to forget the horror impact road deaths have had on thousands of people across Victoria this year.

More than 1100 people lost their lives on Australian roads in 2021, with Victoria recording 235 deaths – a 11 per cent jump on the previous year.

A concerning number of those deaths were among vulnerable road users, including 41 motorcyclists, 28 pedestrians and 10 cyclists.

More than 40 per cent of this year’s road toll victims were under the age of 40, with nine below the age of 15.

Three quarters of all road deaths were men, and just over half of all lives lost occurred in regional Victoria.

The LGA’s where the most deadly crashes occurred were in Melbourne’s east; Cardinia, where 15 lives were lost in 2021, Casey, which saw 13 lives lost over the past year and Baw Baw recorded nine deaths.

In Victoria’s regions, the highest number of road fatalities occurred in Barwon South West and Gippsland which both saw 24 fatalities, while Loddon-Mallee saw 23, 22 lives were lost in Hume and there were 20 road deaths in the Grampians.

A car crash in Bendigo was among the hundreds of road fatalities this year. Picture: Ian Wilson.

Statistics collected by the Transport Accident Commission show the Western Highway holds the unenviable title of Victoria’s most dangerous road, with 27 deaths over the past five years and eight occurring this year.

Completing the list of the state’s five most dangerous roads are; South Gippsland Highway, four deaths this year and 26 over the past five years, Princes Highway East, 22 over the past five years and six this year, the Calder Highway, five in 2021 and 20 over the past five years and the Princes Highway West, two this year and 19 over the past five years.

A Department of Transport spokesman said driver behaviour was a factor in many of these fatal crashes.

“The decisions we make behind the wheel play a big role. Poor choices can and do have consequences — and they can be deadly,” he said.

“Some motorists are still choosing to ignore speed limits, drive under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or pick up the mobile phone while driving, and that’s costing lives.”

Ahead of the holiday period, police have issued a desperate plea for motorists to think before getting behind the wheel during one of the highest risk periods of the year.

“In November alone, there were 27 lives lost on Victorian roads,” road policing Assistant Commissioner Glenn Weir said.

“In many of these cases, road trauma was all avoidable. This is a significant amount of trauma which occurred around the time that many Victorians were returning to the roads after lockdown.”

He said police would be “ramping up” enforcement on Victorian roads over the New Year period, targeting speeding, distracted and impaired drivers.

“While we’re asking everyone to slow down, not drink and drive, and avoid distractions like mobile phones – rest assured that police will also be doing their bit,” he said.

“Road safety is everyone’s responsibility. It’s up to all of us to make sure we reach our destination safely.”