Twelve people were killed in nine collisions across the Ballarat region during the last four months of 2017, a year which police say had a “devastating end”.
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Ballarat’s top traffic cops were shocked at this spike in road trauma and urged drivers to take care as country roads bore the brunt of Victoria’s road toll while deaths in Melbourne dropped.
Senior Sergeant Ben Young said yesterday the 12 deaths occurred in Ballarat and outlying council areas, calling it a “devastating end to 2017 on our local roads”.
“This has left hundreds of our community members mourning and forever impacted as they continue to live without their loved ones,” he said.
“There has also been a large number of serious collisions that have resulted in life-altering injuries to those involved.”
Many of these smashes attracted statewide media attention, such as the shocking death of Ballarat teenager Jacqueline Vodden, 16, who was killed during a police chase in Ballan in September.
In Victoria, 151 people were killed on regional roads last year, compared to 104 in metropolitan Melbourne.
Ballarat police will now focus on the remainder of a blitz called Operation Roadwise, which began on December 15 and runs until Sunday.
Assistant Commissioner Doug Fryer singled out regional areas such as Ballarat on Saturday, saying country roads were over-represented in deaths.
In the first 15 days of the operation, police across the state have on average caught 47 drunk drivers and 32 drug drivers each day.
"We're not the moral police, we say just simply, if you choose to have a drink, or you're going to use drugs, separate the behaviour from the activity of driving, because we know that it drives our road trauma and road death,” Mr Fryer said.
Police will clamp down on the main causes of fatalities and serious injuries, including excessive speed, mobile phone use and impaired driving.
Booze buses will also be called in to the Ballarat region from Melbourne, with police cars ready to catch those who try and take back streets.
“In 15 days over 700 people, 47 a day, getting done for drink driving, (it’s) clear that we've got a core element out there that want to run the gauntlet,” Mr Fryer said.
“The message is really clear from those numbers that you get caught.
“You get caught, you do your licence. You do your licence, you may have problems keeping your job.
“Is it really worth running that gauntlet? We say not, it's not worth risking your life or someone else's.”
