DRIVER error has led to a sharp increase in road trauma this year with the number of fatal crashes doubling.
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From January 1 to the end of July last year, police recorded six road deaths in the Wodonga, Wangaratta, Indigo, Towong, Moira and Alpine local government areas.
That figure has doubled to 12 for the same period this year.
The number of people seriously injured has also soared, with 113 hurt so far this year compared to 97 for the same period last year.
Two people have died in Albury, up from one for the same period last year with 69 people injured.
Wangaratta Senior Sergeant Darren Wittingslow said the figures “are a major concern”.
“The number of fatalities has increased by 100 per cent, which is not good,” he said.
“We’ve had a mix of younger and older drivers, head-on collisions, single vehicles going off the road and motorcyclists.
“There are a broad number of factors and reasons why they happen.
“There is not one particular area that has been hit really hard.”
Wodonga, Towong and Indigo shires have recorded an increased number of injured people while Wangaratta’s figures have declined.
Senior Sergeant Wittingslow said it wasn’t just car users who were been killed and injured.
“It has been spread over all type of road users – cyclists, pedestrians, passengers, motorcyclists and heavy vehicle operators,” he said.
“When you drill down to what’s happened in the majority of them, it’s driver error – things like distraction, carelessness and people travelling at inappropriate speeds for the conditions.
“At the end of the day, the driver has made the error.
“Cars don’t run off the roads or overturn by themselves.”
Police examine vehicles, drivers, the environment and speed limits with each crash to see if there are changes that can be made.
“We do that particularly with the speed limit and environment,” Senior Sergeant Wittingslow said.
“If there are things we can identify and fix between the stakeholders, it may mean it won’t happen there again.
“We look at the times, days and localities where we can and have visible police patrols in those areas.”
Two people have died in Wodonga, three in Wangaratta, one in Towong, four in Indigo and one in Moira.
Wodonga has recorded 16 serious injuries, up from 11.
Serious injuries have grown from seven in Towong Shire to 12 and 18 in Indigo Shire to 30.