*The following discusses local road trauma.
ON JUNE 5, approximately 30 members of the public joined local partner organisations including Bass Coast Shire Council and South Gippsland Shire Council for a Road Policing and Safety Forum hosted by Bass Coast Police Service Area (PSA) at Wonthaggi Town Hall.
Members on the panel included Divisional Area Commander Superintendent Tracie McDonald, Tasking and Co-ordination Inspector Sonali Deshpande, Regional Road Policing Acting Inspector Michael Cirksis, Bass Coast PSA Highway Patrol Sergent Peter Pearce, Road Policing Advisor Senior Sergeant Rod Gillow, and Bass Coast PSA Acting Inspector Jason Hullick.
The panel reinforced their commitment to road safety, emphasising their vision that ‘everyone should be safe, and feel safe, on our roads’. They acknowledged the ongoing challenge of reducing road trauma and the need for a collective approach.
Local data reveals that men are disproportionately affected by serious injury collisions – nearly double that of females over the past five years. While male drivers statistically spend more hours behind the wheel, the numbers overall remain concerning: 29 lives were lost between May 1, 2020, and April 30, 2025, with eight fatalities in the 26- to 35-year-old age group.
Most of those killed or seriously injured are also the driver of passenger vehicles.
According to the statistics presented at the forum, the top six fatal collision causations are (in order) alcohol, illness or disability, other error, fatigue/drowsy, exceed speed limit and inappropriate speed for conditions (e.g. rain, fog). The causations for serious injury are slightly different (in order) other error, slippery, fail to give way, alcohol and disobey sign.
A significant portion of fatal and serious injury crashes occurred on major arterial roads and key municipal routes.
Bass Coast Police emphasised their multi-pronged approach to road safety – focusing on safer roads, safer speeds, safer vehicles, and safer road users. Recognising that humans will always make mistakes, they stressed that vehicle technology, infrastructure, and responsible driving habits play key roles in saving lives.
“It’s not all out-of-town people coming in,” Superintendent McDonald said.
“It’s our own people (in Bass Coast PSA) making one silly mistake that often has really significant consequences.”
In answering a question from a member of the public, McDonald noted that underaged drivers are not a feature of the top causes of fatal or serious injury collisions, however, they are an increasing concern for Bass Coast.
“We do have a lot of youth offending, unfortunately, it is increasing across Bass Coast PSA, particularly the Bass Coast end, to a lesser extent South Gippsland, that involves local kids, but also involves kids coming over from Frankston, Emerald, and Dandenong, and everywhere, in cars that have already been stolen to steal other cars.
“Obviously their belief in their ability and their driving skills far exceeds their actual driving skills and it’s really concerning.
“Ironically it is not a feature of this data around serious injury collisions and fatalities. I think it is more luck and the fact that it is happening in the middle of the night, when there are not as many cars on the road.”
Ironically, stolen high-end vehicles with advanced safety features can protect offenders from serious injury during collisions – while less safe, older cars put legitimate young drivers at greater risk.
“It’s another reason to buy a safer car.”
As one member of the public added, “If you really thought about it, your kids would drive your car, and you’d be driving theirs” – explaining that often kids end up with cheaper cars with less safety features.
In response to concerns about policing resources, McDonald stressed that road safety is a priority for all officers – not just Highway Patrol.
“We want our detectives thinking about road policing when they are out at their next job and pulling over cars. We want our general duties officers to be doing that too. It’s something that everyone can contribute to.”
Bass Coast PSA will host a Neighbourhood Policing Forum in November, with details to be released closer to the date.
