Regional road toll a tragic reality
IT is easy to get complacent behind the wheel and think we won’t be the victim of a serious or fatal collision.
After years of driving experience we often think it will never happen to us.
But the reality is, as reported in today’s Addy, people are dying behind the wheel in regional areas at almost five times the rate of those in Melbourne.
It’s a sobering fact that dawned on me as I prepared stories for today’s paper.
If you’re lucky you’ll be at arm’s length from the grief that’s associated with losing a loved one in a road accident — many which are preventable.
But spend some time with a mother, father, sibling or other family member of a road crash victim and it’s clear just how consuming and life-altering road deaths are.
A life on the road can be taken in an instant but the consequences stay with those left behind forever.
Families I’ve spoken to say they will never really get over the death but rather are trying their best to live through it. Meanwhile, data shows men are losing their lives at twice the rate of women on our roads. Maybe it’s bravado or maybe it’s testosterone at work. But whatever it is, we need to take responsibility to make sure the trend doesn’t continue. I have been guilty of the “it won’t happen to me” attitude but the sort of statistics mentioned here make me think twice about risks I take behind the wheel. In a timely reminder of the risks we face on the roads, two people escaped serious injury yesterday in a multi-vehicle collision yesterday on Bacchus Marsh Rd — one of Victoria’s deadliest stretches. That came after a motorbike rider was taken to hospital with a serious leg injury after a crash in Torquay on Monday.
There’s a lot of distract us when we are behind the wheel these days.
Those in the know say a driver travelling at 100km/h, travels around 55 metres while their attention is away from the road for just two seconds.
So essentially you’re driving blind for 55 meters.
Coupled with our busy lifestyles and the rush we are to get to places, the consequences can be deadly.
I know the next time I’m thinking about speeding or using my phone while driving the potentially deadly consequences will be in the forefront of my mind.