Ben Carroll: How we can fix Victoria’s deadly road toll
Despite many of us spending most of our time at home, 125 people have lost their lives on Victorian roads in the first half of the year — a figure that’s far too high, writes Ben Carroll.
Opinion
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It’s been four weeks since I was appointed Minister for Road Safety and in all the briefings I’ve received, there is one tragic number that really stands out: 125.
Despite many of us spending most of our time at home over the last few months, 125 people have lost their lives on Victorian roads in the first half of the year.
At a time when we’re all focused on the health of our families, friends and the community – it’s a shocking reality that 125 families have been torn apart by road trauma this year.
And while this is 40 less than the same time last year, the number of people on our roads has also dropped as we’ve confronted the coronavirus pandemic.
I can’t accept that death or serious injury is the price we must pay for using our roads.
Picture a graph that charted the road toll since 1970 when more than 1000 people died on Victoria’s roads, through to last year when 263 lives were lost.
Picture all the key road safety interventions of the last 50 years plotted on that graph – mandatory seatbelts, random breath tests, speed cameras, the TAC’s iconic ad campaigns.
Every single one of them led to a noticeable drop in the number of lives lost.
This trend has continued as we’ve ramped up investment in road safety infrastructure like rumble strips, roundabouts and safety barriers.
It shows that we can make a real difference in saving lives and preventing people being injured on our roads – because we have been doing exactly that for the past 50 years.
We have long been at the forefront of this global fight and have some of the best road safety experts and agencies in the world leading the way.
That’s why we established Road Safety Victoria to join the road safety frontline alongside the TAC and Victoria Police.
That’s why we continue to invest in the infrastructure that we know saves lives.
And while there’s more to do – with every life lost on our roads someone’s dad, sister or mate – together, with you and with our road safety partners, we will do everything we possibly can to confront this challenge head-on.
We all have a responsibility to share our roads safely – because the decisions we all make behind the wheel, crossing the road or riding a bike can be life-changing and we want everyone to get home safely each and every day.
I want Victoria’s roads to be the safest in the world and I urge all Victorians to work with me to achieve that.
Ben Carroll is Victoria’s Minister for Roads and Road Safety