The majority of deaths on regional roads in Victoria, Australia, last year were local people, according to latest data.
Statistics from the Transport Accident Commission (TAC) show that about 80 percent of people killed on roads in regional Victoria in 2020 were within a 30km radius of their home and dispels the myth that people dying in fatal are predominantly visitors or people unfamiliar with the roads they’re traveling on.
TAC research also shows that country drivers are significantly more likely to speed on 100km/h regional roads than metro drivers, increasing their risk of death or serious injury in a crash.
“There is simply no room for complacency when we get behind the wheel, even if we are traveling close to home on familiar roads,” said Liz Cairns, Transport Accident Commission Acting CEO.
“We’ll continue to invest in life-saving infrastructure and roll out cutting edge education campaigns to make regional roads safer, but we still need people to heed the warning; slow down and make safe choices.”
While there has been a reduction in the number of lives lost in rural areas so far this year, 81 people have still died on regional roads. Across the whole state, 169 people have been killed, compared with 155 at the same time last year.
