The call comes after a man in his 20s was injured after he lost control and smashed into a tree on Ballarat-Maryborough Road in Clunes this morning.

This followed a similar incident when a man in his 50s was killed after hitting a tree in Stawell on Sunday night.

Highway Patrol member Acting Senior Sergeant Stuart Gale said western Victoria was over-represented in incidents involving cars running off roads and crashing into trees.

“Your speed must be appropriate in the circumstances you’re driving in and not at the speed limit – this is the main thing I go on about – speed limits are advisory,” he said.

“We’re coming into winter and we’re seeing more accidents on these bad days.

“You’ve got to ask, are people driving to the circumstances? Whether it’s the weather or road conditions.”

Acting Senior Sergeant Gale said country roads around Ballarat were often more dangerous than major highways such as the Western Freeway, with big trees often close to roadways.

“In that environment we don’t have the road protection offered on our first class roads,” he said.

Meanwhile, investigations were continuing into a fatal collision between a car and a bus in Sulky that attracted statewide media attention on Wednesday afternoon.

The driver of the car was pronounced dead at the scene and the bus driver remains fighting for his life in hospital after the car veered onto the wrong side of the road on the Midland Highway.

Eight other people on the bus were also injured in the incident.

Sources said today investigators were looking into the actions of the driver of the car in the moments before he collided with the bus.

The bus driver was not believed to be at fault during the collision.