By Brendan Rees
Twenty-eight young lives have been tragically lost to the City of Casey’s roads in the past decade, Transport Accident Commission (TAC) figures reveal.
Casey ranked the second worst in the state for road trauma for young people aged up to 25 years from 2008 to 2017, behind Yarra Ranges.
TAC chief executive officer Joe Calafiore said transport accidents remained one of the leading causes of death of young Victorians and showed there is “still much to be done.”
He said in their first year of driving, young drivers in Victoria were almost four times more likely to be involved in a fatal or serious injury crash than more experienced drivers.
“That’s why it’s so important to teach safe driver behaviour, to all Victorians, at an early age,” he said.
“It starts with role modelling safe behaviours when we are behind the wheel, and spending as much time as possible teaching our kids how to drive safely, ride their bikes and walk safely around roads. It is also crucial to get young drivers into the safest cars possible.”
TAC research also showed young drivers aged 18 to 25 accounted for 24 per cent of deaths on Victoria’s roads last year.
City of Casey councillor Sam Aziz said the statistics were heartbreaking and more investment needed to be made on the roads to make them safer.
“The tragedy of a young life lost is a tragedy spreads through the community as well,” he said.
“We all have a responsibility as elected officials and lawmakers to ensure that that the risk of this occurring is absolutely minimised.”
Minister for Roads and Road Safety Luke Donnellan joined the TAC and Museums Victoria to officially open a $55 million Road to Zero Education Complex at the Melbourne Museum on Tuesday 28 August.
The complex will feature the latest in visual and digital technology to help students and the wider community understand their own vulnerability, the role of speed in crashes and the importance of safer vehicles.
Mr Donnellan said: “The earlier we can start a conversation around road safety – in classrooms, on-road or amongst friends and family, the better equipped young Victorians will be to drive safely.”
Casey Highway Patrol Acting Sergeant Leigh Royal said the key message for drivers was to slow down and “remove anything that may distract you.”
“Every person’s life is important. Police have the ability to drug test any driver in Victoria and drugs can stay in your system for a considerable period of time after you actually use the drug.”
