The number of registered vehicles on Australian roads is increasing, with an annual growth of 2.1 per cent, the number of vehicles on the roads exceeds 18 million. This greater volume of vehicles on our roads is not only leading to congestion but also an increased risk of road traffic accidents. 

Australian Road Safety Foundation founder Russell White has urged Victorians not to accept to the rising road toll, instead we should always be searching for new ways to educate and improve safety on our roads. 

 “We can never become complacent when it comes to reducing road trauma. Improving vehicle safety, road design and enforcement obviously needs to continue but we also need to look at improving education, addressing human factors and focusing more on personal responsibility," Mr White said.

The TAC remains at the forefront of infrastructural change – with the organisation’s plan showing the need for safer roads with road dividers and other measures installed to reduce the risk or severity of any crashes. 

“There are a whole range of additional skills and experience that need to be developed. What we need to look at is how we can start to develop higher order skills and expand awareness beyond simply knowing the road rules,” Mr White said. Road safety campaigner John Maher travelled to Bendigo to lay flowers on his daughter’s grave for the 21^st year in a row. The grief never gets any easier. 

“I started Carmen’s Road Safety campaign. Every time I look into the eyes of the school students I see them looking back at me and soaking up Carmen's story,” John said. “I know when these students leave my road safety presentation they are safer drivers on the road.

“They understand what we have lost and they understand what their families will lose should they kill themselves in a car crash.” Grief Expert, Deb Rae who lost her husband to a road accident says, “We all have a duty of care to ensure that our young drivers are vigilant every time they get into their cars.”