HIGHWAY patrol police are pleading for greater awareness on the roads this Easter and Anzac Day holiday time following three deaths on Frankston and Mornington Peninsula roads.
The deaths of an 86-year-old woman hit by a car while walking across Nepean Highway, Frankston; a McCrae youth, 17, who was a passenger in a speeding car which hit a tree in Field Street, Tootgarook; and a 38-year-old man whose car ran off the road into a tree on Browns Road, Rye, has police reeling and families in mourning.
Circumstances surrounding each of these fatalities are still being investigated.
Up until midnight Tuesday 16 April, 96 people had died on the state’s roads compared to 58 in the same period last year – up 65 per cent. Motorcyclists are especially vulnerable with 22 deaths.
With many people taking a break from Good Friday right through to the Anzac Day weekend, the stage is set for more deaths at a traditionally dangerous time on our roads – unless drivers place a greater emphasis on road safety.
Leading Senior Constable Greg Wolfe, of Somerville Highway Patrol, said extra police would be out patrolling the roads as part of Operation NEXUS which began on Good Friday eve and continues until after the Anzac Day weekend.
He said the main aim for all drivers should be to concentrate on the road ahead – especially on rural roads which have claimed the lives of 59 people compared to 26 on urban Melbourne roads.
Other precautions road users should take are not to drive while affected by drugs or alcohol or when tired, and not to get into a car being driven by someone who is drug or alcohol affected.
“Try and get them to not drive,” Leading Senior Constable Wolfe said. “Think Uber, taxi, or designated driver instead.
“Make sure you wear your seat belt and drive according to the conditions – and certainly within the speed limit. If you don’t have a valid or current licence, then don’t drive.”
First published in the Southern Peninsula News – 23 April 2019
