Lower toll but speed still kills

A record low road toll in Victoria is more likely due to the COVID lockdowns than improved driving behaviour, police say.

Police tend to a roadside accident. Picture: Dylan Robinson

A record low road toll of 213 in Victoria in 2020 is more likely due to the COVID lockdowns than improved driving behaviour, police have warned, with the number of fatalities per 10,000 cars “significantly” higher than previous years.

NSW also recorded a lower toll of 296 compared to 351 in 2019 by December 30, as did Western Australia which has a provisional road toll of 154 compared to 163 in 2019.

Victoria Police Road Policing Command Assistant Commissioner Libby Murphy said concerning behaviours such as speeding were over-represented in 2020, and described the number of cars travelling more than 145km/h as “staggering” in part because there were fewer cars on the road.

“We all know just that little bit over will kill people,” she said.

“The higher the speed, the more likely you are to kill someone.”

Ms Murphy highlighted ­illegal phone use, fatigue and lack of seatbelts as other significant contributors to road trauma last year, and warned people to not take risks when trying to travel to Victoria from NSW before the border closed.

Thirty-four per cent of ­fatalities involved speeding, 32 per cent involved drug use and 21 per cent involved misuse of alcohol.

More than half of the road deaths, 126, were on rural roads, with excessive speed and fatigue major factors.

Fatalities were down across every road user group except cyclists, with an increase from 11 deaths in 2019 to 13 cyclists in 2020.

About 68 per cent of drivers and passengers killed on Victorian roads last year were in vehicles that were more than 10 years old.

In Queensland, the road toll climbed to 276 from the historic 2019 low of 217.

Queensland Police Acting Assistant Commissioner Ray Rohweder said he did not want to sugar-coat the findings.

“It’s a disappointing result and we are going to do everything we can during 2021 to reverse that, try and reverse that result as much as we can,” he said.

Mr Rohweder said people needed to step back and look at how they conducted themselves on the road, especially regarding the wearing of seatbelts.

About 40 per cent of the fatalities were people not wearing seatbelts.

“Now I just don’t understand how that can be the case,” Mr Rohweder said.

“We see instances of, for example, parents in cars where the parents are wearing a seatbelt and the children are unrestrained.

“It’s just an incredible situation.”

The current fine for not wearing a seatbelt is $400.

“I’d say if a fine was increased, it would decrease the road toll,” Mr Rohweder said.

He said although road use had increased during lockdown as people avoided public transport, it was “too easy” to say COVID was behind the spike.