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The North East has sadly experienced 14 deaths on the roads throughout 2016 and police are determined to stop that total climbing any higher.
Fairfax Media is also launching a new campaign called #homesafe, sharing the stories of how road trauma has affected families, emergency services and communities across Victoria.
The pain of losing a loved one is still raw for Vicki Dennis, who spoke to The Border Mail for the campaign about the need for drivers to be more careful on the roads, just four months after her daughter Jess McLennan died at Lilliput.
She no longer trusts others drivers to do the right thing or always give way.
Wodonga Highway Patrol Acting Sergeant Owen Clarke said although the 2016 North East fatalities were already more than double last year’s total of six, just one death would be too many.
“It’s the whole concept of #homesafe, every person who drives around on the roads would be missed,” he said.
“The flow-on for regional communities can be huge.”
Emergency service personnel often see the full horrors of fatalities as first on the scene.
“We carry the burden of the crash for several months while we investigate,” Acting Sergeant Clarke said.
The officer did not want fear and panic on the roads, but for drivers to be aware of others and that even a mistake could lead to jail time if they killed someone.
“No one thinks it’s going to happen to them, it’s a human trait,” he said.
“The overriding factor is we don’t want people to die.”
Part of the police attempts to stop the road toll climbing involved a focus on vulnerable road users: the motorcyclists, bike riders and pedestrians not protected by a car’s shell or airbags.
They will also look at the roads with the highest spikes in crashes.
“We are dedicated, now and into the new year, with more operations than you can poke a stick at,” Acting Sergeant Clarke said.
“North East Victoria has some of the best motorcycle roads in Victoria … we go out there and we flood those roads so we can organise safer driver behaviour.”
To read more about Fairfax Media’s #homesafe campaign, visit www.bordermail.com.au/home-safe.
