‘It will be similar or worse’: Six people killed in 10 days as road toll soars to tragic 2023 levels
Motorcyclist and pedestrian deaths have risen to frightening levels as Victoria’s road toll reaches a grim new milestone.
Police & Courts
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The state’s top road cop says people need to stop blaming the roads or weather for the “reckless” driving that has contributed to the “horrifying” road toll.
Six people have been killed in the past 10 days to bring the amount of lives lost on the state’s roads this year to 173 – the same number as this time 12 months ago.
Last year’s road toll was the worst since 2008, where 296 lives were lost with many drivers disobeying simple road rules.
Road Policing Assistant Commissioner Glenn Weir said he expected that number to be surpassed again, pleading with motorists to take caution on the roads.
“There’s no excuse, people cannot blame the weather, none of (the recent fatalities) have been caused by conditions on the roads, which is something that gets thrown at us all the time,” he said on Saturday.
“People need to stop looking to blame other things.”
The number of motorcyclists killed so far in 2024 has almost doubled the amount recorded this time last year.
Forty-two motorcyclists have been killed across the state so far this year after 23 lives were lost at the same time in 2023.
The amount of pedestrians killed on our roads has also risen to 29, increasing from 22 this time last year.
Police say motorists failing to drive to the conditions, speeding, visibility, incorrect safety wear and failing to give way are some of the major factors in many of the fatal crashes.
“This isn’t about blaming people, this is about realising that people are dying in numbers that are not acceptable,” Mr Weir added.
“(It) is a really horrifying jump in trauma.
“This just can’t continue.”
He said the constant messaging surrounding driver safety appears to be “white noise” for many motorists who continue to disobey basic road rules.
He fears his major collision investigators, who responded to a disastrous number of multi-fatality crashes last year, will be pushed to their “limit”.
He said many of the emergency service workers, particularly in more remote areas of the state, would attend a fatal crash involving someone they knew.
“This year has been really confronting,” he added.
“It does really have an impact, but even we have a limit, and I worry that we’re approaching that limit.”
A teenager was on Saturday afternoon in a stable condition after the car he was driving split in two on McMahons Rd in Frankston about 1.50am that morning.
The teenager’s car crashed into a pole and fence before erupting into flames.
Mr Weir said a cocktail of “excessive speed” and a “bit of bravado” were involved.
“Having seen (the) vision of that collision on McMahons Rd, that is quite frightening,” he added.
“It was a recipe for disaster … speed, at that time of the morning, and people getting their capabilities and their driving skills mixed up with a bit of bravado is an absolute recipe for disaster.
“He is a very, very lucky young man.”
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