The number of lives lost on Victoria’s roads has reached a 15-year high after a tragic Melbourne Cup long weekend which claimed 13 lives.
There have been 251 lives lost on Victorian roads to date, the highest since 2008 when 256 lives were lost at the same point of the year.
It also surpasses the entirety of last year’s 241 lives lost.
Saturday saw seven lives lost in seven separate collisions, with Sunday’s Daylesford tragedy adding a further five lives lost.
Fatalities that occurred on Victorian roads between 12:01am Friday 3 November and 11:59pm Tuesday 7 November included:
• Friday 3 November, 8.30am at Serpentine – an 18-year-old Deniliquin man died when the ute he was driving crashed into a tree.
• Saturday 4 November, 1am at Mt Waverley – a 20-year-old Notting Hill male pedestrian died in hospital after a car struck him on the Monash Freeway.
• Saturday 4 November, 5am at Cabarita – an unidentified driver died when their car crashed into a tree.
• Saturday 4 November, 6.45am at Clunes – a 47-year-old man from Maryborough died when his ute left the road and crashed into a creek.
• Saturday 4 November, 9:30am at Oakleigh East – a 37-year-old Endeavour Hills male cyclist located deceased on side of road on Franklyn Street.
• Saturday 4 November, 2.25pm at Glenrowan – a 22-year-old Springvale male pedestrian died when a truck struck him on the Hume Freeway.
• Saturday 4 November, 4pm at Euroa – an 18-year-old Shepparton woman died when the car she was driving crashed into a tree.
• Saturday 4 November, 4.45pm at Beaconsfield Upper – a 37-year-old Clayton man riding a motorcycle died when his bike crashed down an embankment.
• Sunday 5 November, 6.05pm at Daylesford – a 38-year-old Tarneit man and his 11-year-old son, a 30-year-old Point Cook man and his partner, a 44-year-old Point Cook woman and the woman’s 9-year-old daughter died when a vehicle struck them while dining at the front of a hotel.
The horror weekend comes as police detected 8,373 offences during Operation Furlong over the same period.
The five-day, statewide road policing operation saw police targeting high risk driving behaviour, with a particular focus on impaired and speeding drivers.
Police detected 287 drink driving offences from 142,017 preliminary breath tests – a strike rate of one in 495 drivers caught over the limit.
A further 176 drug driving offences were detected from 3,322 roadside drug tests.
The total 8,373 offences detected during Operation Furlong included:
• 3,246 speeding offences
• 800 unregistered vehicles
• 533 disqualified/suspended and unlicenced drivers
• 439 disobey signs/signals
• 392 mobile phone offences
• 287 drink driving offences from 142,017 preliminary breath tests
• 213 seatbelt offences
• 176 drug driving offences from 3,322 roadside drug tests; and
• 175 vehicle impoundments
Operation Furlong was conducted from 12:01am Friday 3 November to 11:59pm Tuesday 7 November 2023.
Quotes attributable to Road Policing Assistant Commissioner, Glenn Weir:
“Despite our best efforts and an increased police presence with Operation Furlong, it has been an absolutely horrific weekend on Victorian roads – 13 lives lost is incomprehensible.
“Our thoughts are with the families and loves ones impacted by these collisions, as well as our police members and emergency services partners responding to these confronting scenes.
“The fact we’ve also surpassed lives lost for all of last year and reached the highest number of fatalities in 15-years is just truly tragic.
“With two months to go in the year, it is incredibly concerning that we find ourselves in this position.
“This should be a wake up call to everyone – don’t think that road trauma can’t happen to you, because it can.
“During Operation Furlong we still detected far too many motorists doing the wrong thing – whether speeding over the limit, using their mobile phone whilst driving, or driving whilst impaired.
“Road safety is everyone’s responsibility, and we need all road users to take more care on the roads – particularly as we head towards the high-risk period at the end of the year.
