By ANEEKA SIMONIS
IN the past year, 43 road users have been hospitalised following crashes in the Cardinia Shire area.
Though it is down from the previous year – where 72 people were hospitalised with road trauma injuries during the same 12-month period- the state road toll is up.
According to the Traffic Accident Commission (TAC), the road toll is up 1.8 per cent on this time last year.
Minister for Road Safety Luke Donnellan is calling on local communities to come together and discuss local road safety issues in a bid to reduce road trauma statistics.
“We want Victorians to tell us what they think about key road safety issues and how we reach our goal of zero deaths and serious injuries,“ Mr Donnellan said.
Six consultation sessions inviting locals to express their views about local road issues will be held across Victoria, one in Cranbourne East.
Cardinia Shire residents are invited to the session at the Casey Fields VFL Pavillion Casey Scorpions Football Club at 160 Berwick-Cranbourne Road, Cranbourne East, on Wednesday 17 June at 6pm.
Road safety initiatives have improved Victoria’s statistics over the past five decades, reducing road deaths from 1061 in 1970 to 249 in 2014, however the position has slipped in recent years.
Australia is currently behind the UK, Sweden and The Netherlands in road deaths per 100,000 population and the State Government is calling for local input into their new Road Safety Strategy and Action Plan.
“Victoria has been a leader in road safety for decades, but we’re now falling behind. We need to search the world, and our own backyard, for the best ways to reduce road trauma,” Mr Donnellan said.
To find out more information on the community consultation sessions or to complete the online feedback form, visit www.towardszero.vic.gov.au.
