State’s ‘horror year’ on the roads as death toll hits 15-year-high

Police are urging drivers in one state to be vigilant after the road toll hit a horror 15-year high.

Victorian drivers are being urged to take care on the roads after a “horror year” in which the state’s road toll hit a 15-year high.

Police are determined to drive down road trauma after 296 lives were lost in 2023, a record since 2008 when 303 people were killed.

It comes after 241 lives were lost in road accidents in 2022.

Thirteen people were killed in just a few days over the Melbourne Cup long weekend.

Collisions resulting in multiple fatalities contributed significantly to the number of lives lost, with 14 double fatalities, four quadruple deaths and two crashes resulting in five deaths.

Five people died after a car ploughed into the beer garden at the The Royal Daylesford Hotel on November 5. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Josie Hayden

Road Policing Assistant Commissioner Glenn Weir said it had been a “horror year”, with the severity of the collisions “especially tragic”.

He said simple and avoidable mistakes resulted in “catastrophic outcomes”.

“The sheer number of lives lost has been devastating, but we must never forget that these are not numbers but people whose family and friends will mourn their loss for years to come,” he said.

“As we embark on a new year, I urge everyone to take this opportunity to stop and resent their behaviour on the roads.”

Mr Weir said road users should remember they had a responsibility to keep everyone safe by sticking to the speed limit, not driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs, avoiding distractions like mobile phones and ensuring everyone is wearing a seatbelt.

Four Pacific Island workers died in a single car crash near Mansfield in Victoria in November. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Ian Currie

“Ultimately, we want all road users to take responsibility for their actions and make better choices that will keep themselves, their passengers and all road users safe,” he said.

“It’s up to all of us to ensure we start the new year with road safety front of mind and make every effort to ensure we don’t have another year like 2023.”

Victoria Police credit more than half of the fatalities to single acts of noncompliance and drivers making basic errors.

Acts such as low-range speeding, lower-level drink-driving, failing to obey road signs and distractions like a mobile phone have contributed to the deaths.

Road Policing Assistant Commissioner Glenn Weir said 2023 was a ‘horror year’ on the roads. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Ian Currie

At least 10 per cent of the collisions involved one or more passengers without a seatbelt.

Up to a quarter of the deaths were the result of extreme behaviours, such as driving without a licence, travelling at extreme speeds, high-range drink-driving, illicit drug-driving or a combination of all of them.

Driver fatalities rose from 99 in 2022 to 130 in 2023, while passenger deaths rose from 23 to 56.

Of the deaths, 124 people were killed on metropolitan roads, a jump from 104 in 2022, while 172 people died on regional roads, up from 130 the previous year.

November was the worst month on the state’s roads, with 35 people killed.

Police are urging drivers to consider their actions when behind the wheel in a bid to keep the 2024 road toll from spiking.