It is now 46 years since Victorians declared war on 1034 – the number of lives lost on the state’s roads in 1970.
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By last year, that figure had fallen to about 250, despite there being four times as many vehicles on our roads.
This is not a figure that should have us celebrating, or believing our job in road safety is done. Victorians now accept that the only figure worth celebrating is zero. The truth is every Victorian has a role to play in achieving our Towards Zero vision for a future free of deaths and serious injuries.
Today, the Border Mail takes up the challenge to work with its readers and encourage them to do what they can to ensure every trip is a safe one.
As a leading voice in the community, this newspaper understands the impact of every death and serious injury on local roads.
Every life lost is somebody’s mother, father, sister, brother or child and not one of them should lose their life simply because of a mistake made on our roads.
In Wodonga, one person lost their life last year. We know 27 people were admitted to hospital after a crash and three of these people spent more than two weeks in hospital – an indicator of severe injuries, from which it could take months or years to get their lives back on track.
This year, we’ve already had two lives lost on Wodonga roads. We should not have to pay such a high price for getting around.
We know 90 per cent of Victorians agree that no death is acceptable on our roads. But only 15 per cent think it is possible.
Towards Zero is achievable in our lifetimes. We have the knowledge to make it happen and global experts believe it can be achieved in the next four decades.
How can we do it? We need to create a safer system, with safer drivers, driving safer cars on safer roads and at safer speeds. When a mistake is made on the roads, these elements will work together to prevent that mistake from becoming deadly.
Road safety has always been a shared responsibility between road safety agencies and individual road users. With Towards Zero, we want to strengthen the links and understanding between the agencies and the community. This is already starting to happen. The TAC is investing in safer road infrastructure. In partnership with VicRoads, we’re rolling out thousands of kilometres of barriers on rural roads, where most of the state’s deaths are happening.
We're investing in the safety of our young people through the Young Driver Safety Package. We are offering free licences as a reward to our safest drivers, working on a new peer-to-peer communication program and continuing to support proven programs like Fit2Drive. We'll continue to remind all users of the biggest road safety issues through public education and direct community engagement. The TAC’s breath testing team will be at every country racing meet and most major music festivals.
But we can't get to Towards Zero alone. We need every individual to do their part, whether walking, riding or driving, to use the roads safely. We need every business to think about the safety of their fleet and employees. Towards Zero seems like an ambitious goal, but if we focus on what we can do on our streets, in our towns and in situations under our control, we can each make a small step towards a big goal.
The campaign starting today sets us this challenge to work together Towards Zero for a greater, safer Border region. We hope this partnership will set the bar for other regional communities. Together, we can get to zero.
Joe Calafiore is chief executive of the Transport Accident Commission.