By Romy Stephens
A motorcyclist and a passenger of a vehicle did not make it home this Queen’s birthday long weekend, as the impact of road trauma tragically claimed their lives.
These fatalities bring the total number of lives lost on Victorian roads to 99 people.
The fatalities included a 28-year-old Croydon woman who was the passenger of a vehicle in a two-car collision in Kangaroo Ground on 5 June. The woman tragically died in hospital after another vehicle crossed onto the wrong side of the road and struck the car she was travelling in.
The other fatality was a 30-year-old male motorcyclist who failed to negotiate a bend and collided with a tree in Hoddles Creek on 7 June.
Road Policing Command Assistant Commissioner Libby Murphy said that motorcyclists need to take extra care and ride to the conditions and their experience if travelling on the roads in the cooler months.
“Even though we are heading into cooler weather, people are keen to get a couple more rides in as the coronavirus restrictions ease,” she said.
“I urge that people ride to the conditions, as particularly in these cooler temperatures there is a risk that roads will be wet, visibility is poorer and in regional locations black ice may be on the road. If travelling in groups only ride to the capability of your weakest rider.
“It is also important for drivers to take appropriate care when sharing the road with motorcyclists. We know if they are hit by a car, the outcome is never good.”
Over the weekend Victoria Police issued 208 seatbelt offences, which included children who were not restrained.
A 39-year-old female was pulled over on 8 June after travelling 137km in a 110km zone on the Hume Freeway, Glenrowan. She was driving on a suspended probationary licence and returned a positive preliminary oral fluid test. Police inspected the vehicle and located an unrestrained 4-year-old child laying on the back seat and a 10-year-old child laying under a doona in the rear compartment of the car.
A man was pulled over after driving erratically on the Westgate Freeway in Altona North on Sunday. A five-year-old girl was not restrained properly in the back seat. He returned an evidentiary breath test result of 0.263.
Assistant Commissioner Libby Murphy said she was frustrated to see children not buckled up.
“You don’t think twice about getting into a car and putting on your seatbelt, so I struggle to comprehend why you wouldn’t ensure your passengers have the same safety luxury,” she said.
“Given that over the weekend the drivers were also impaired, the situations could have quite quickly escalated and had deadly consequences for those poor children.
“Your seatbelt acts as a life vest if in a collision. I implore you to please make sure your passengers are always buckled up.”
Over the four-day Operation Regal 10,743 traffic offences and 847 crime offences were detected.
Police will continue to be highly visible and enforcing over the coming weeks as coronavirus restrictions ease and people return from holiday and recreational destinations.
