Curb rural toll

IT IS welcome news that Victoria’s road toll is down compared to this time last year.

It is less good news though that the toll is tracking above forecast.

In the Greater Geelong region road deaths remain relatively flat with approximately nine fatals in the 12 months to Christmas last year and the same this year.

But it is concerning that in the Geelong area the proportion of fatals occurring on rural roads is shooting up.

While we seem to be reining in road deaths in the inner-city, locals are increasingly being killed in crashes on our rural roads.

As Victoria’s top traffic cop puts it in an exclusive interview with the Addy today: “The Greater Geelong region is ... the largest non-Melbourne CBD in the whole state but within 18km of getting out of the CBD of Geelong you’re on rural highspeed country roads ... We’re above the five year trend on country roads.”

As we enjoy our holidays we all need to remember just how bloody and traumatic this period can be. On our roads we have a mix of locals and international tourists who are not only not familiar with our roads they are not necessarily properly aware of our road rules.

There are obvious reforms the authorities could undertake to reduce this problem involving education and licencing.

What has proved hard to control is the perpetual menace of drink, and particularly drugged, drivers.

At the end of the day we can only drive for ourselves.

We need to ensure that we are not driving over the limit, or in a scattered, hungover mindframe.

For better or worse, to be safe as possible we also need to drive defensively factoring in the recklessness and unwitting mistakes of other drivers including older drivers.

Go that little bit slower, take breaks if you’re getting weary, refuse to be destracted by the kids in the back, calm down and don’t get angry behind the wheel. And get to your destination alive for the new year.