Victoria's Transport Accident Commission (TAC) is urging people to slow down, put their phones away and obey the road roads — particularly in regional areas — following an uptick in road deaths in the last year.
The commission said 134 people died on regional roads across the state last year, up from 119 in 2021. Metropolitan road deaths decreased slightly from 114 in 2021 to 106 in 2022.
The regional death toll was the second highest recorded by the TAC over the past five years, with only 2019 seeing more regional road deaths (146).
The TAC's head of road safety Samantha Cockfield said last year's state-wide total of 240 deaths was up from the 2021 toll of 233.
"All of that increase and more was really accounted for in regional and rural Victoria," she said.
"What is incredibly sad is that nearly all of these fatalities could have been avoided."
Importance of adhering to road rules
Ms Cockfield said speed was involved in many of the recorded deaths last year — but not necessarily high speeds.
"We can avoid these crashes and it is often the things that we all know that we shouldn't be doing," she said.
"Risky driving, driving a bit too fast for the road conditions … particularly in Victoria at the moment in relation to the floods, we know that some of the roads still need repairs."
She said it was important drivers adhered to the road rules, drove safely and stayed off the roads entirely when impaired by alcohol, drugs or fatigue.
She also urged drivers to put mobile phones away and wear seatbelts at all times.
"This year (2022) 25 people were killed without their seatbelts on," she said.
"Everyone of those probably could have survived had that seatbelt been on."
