Road toll drop gives hope

By Tania Martin
YARRA Ranges’ traffic cops say the message is finally getting through with a dramatic decrease in the road toll from this time last year.
This comes as the Transport Accident Commission (TAC) released its half-yearly road trauma statistics.
Despite the state road toll road rising to 163, which is 10 more than this time last year, the Yarra Ranges has seen reductions. Just two people have died on the road since January compared to 11 deaths in the first half of last year.
Yarra Ranges Highway Patrol officer Leading Senior Constable Ron Veldman said there could be a number of reasons the numbers have dropped so dramatically.
“Maybe the message is finally getting though, we hope it is,” he said.
Leading Sen Const Veldman said the traffic unit was also has putting a lot of effort into operations targeting drink drivers and speeding in the region.
“But you never know what will happen, next week we might get five in a row,” he said.
“We also haven’t had any double fatalities this year.”
Despite the reduction, Leading Sen Const Veldman said there were still plenty of accidents across the region but that they haven’t ended up being recorded as a statistic. In Cardinia Shire the road toll has risen by one in the same period.
In 2009, three deaths were recorded in the first six months of the year compared to this year’s four.
According to TAC statistics, fatalities in older drivers and motorcyclists are continuing to rise compared to the same time last year.
Road safety manager Samantha Cockfield said the TAC was working with road safety authorities on community programs to help keep older drivers safe on the roads.
“We encourage older drivers to access these programs or work with their doctor to be aware of their changing health needs and how it could affect their driving,” she said. “It’s up to all the community to help keep Victoria’s road toll down.
“I urge all road users to take care on the roads.”