Road safety warning as winter risks rise

As we inch closer to winter, police are urging motorists to stay off their phones and drive to the conditions as National Road Safety Week shines a spotlight on Australian roads.

National Road Safety Week runs from May 17 to May 24, and this year’s message is ‘Drive so Others Survive.’

A Bass Coast Highway Patrol member said police are seeing some dangerous behaviours, with speed, unlicensed driving, drink driving, and distracted driving chief among them.

“Obviously speed, and unlicensed driving, so suspended, disqualified drivers, drunk drivers and alcohol-affected drivers are usually the main focus,” he said.

“On top of that would be distraction offences, so drivers using their phones, etc.”

The officer said police were particularly aware of increased risks on major routes that carry weekend traffic from metropolitan Melbourne to Phillip Island.

He said high traffic volumes are often accompanied by increased offending, making those roads a focus for police.

Rural roads, such as those leading towards Wilsons Promontory, are also a concern.

“They’re very windy, high-speed rural roads,” he said.

“When people do have collisions out that way, obviously the impacts are quite significant because of those conditions.”

The warning comes as we approach the winter months, which bring darker mornings, wet roads and reduced visibility.

Police want to remind drivers to prepare their vehicles and make sure their tyres, windscreen wipers and demisters are up to scratch before driving in tougher conditions.

“Just drive to the conditions,” the Highway Patrol member said.

“If it’s dark and wet, slow down, make sure your vehicles are in good condition for wet conditions, so make sure your tyres are up to date and have plenty of tread on them.

“Make sure things like your windscreen wipers are working properly and demister. That’s a big thing as well in winter.”

When asked if any common factors appear frequently in bad crashes, the officer had a straightforward message.

“Increased speed and distractions,” he said.

The comments follow recent coverage of a 22-year-old Brunswick man who crashed a Tesla into the boom gates at Wilsons Promontory last August after drink driving.