Alarm over serious injury collision rise

A targeted traffic operation over the coming months will focus on reducing Baw Baw’s serious injury collisions.

Operation Vision will target high speed offences, drug and alcohol driving and rural roads.

The Transport Accident Commission funded operation will see extra resources on local roads over the next couple of months.

The operation is largely in response to a significant increase in serious injury collisions across the Baw Baw police services area last year.

While fatalities in the region decreased from four in 2019 to one last year, the number of people involved in serious injury collisions jumped 81 per cent from 38 to 69.

Other regional areas across the state recorded lower statistics because of lockdown periods and less cars on the road but Baw Baw’s figures were against the trend.

Division five road policing advisor senior sergeant Jason Hullick said the number of serious injury collisions was alarming.

“The difference between walking away, a serious injury or being killed can be millimetres. Cars sometimes miss large trees by a paint scraping.

“It is a concern because these serious injury collisions could easily have been fatalities,” he said.

The number of female serious injury collisions was of particular concern, increasing three-fold from eight last year to 23 this year.

Sen sgt Hullick said there was no particular theme or cause for the collisions, but distraction was the biggest factor.

Whether it’s inexperience or distraction, he said it might be only a small mistake that could end up a fatality or serious injury.

Highway patrol officers will continue to monitor local areas and adapt operations and general patrols to target bad driver behaviour.