All community members must be self-aware and respectful to other road users to prevent further lives being lost across the region this year, police say.
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It comes as three lives have been lost in the region so far this year.
These include a motorcyclist who ran off the road and into a tree at Newlyn and a driver who ran off the road and into a tree at Little Hampton in January.
On February 5 a motorcyclist crashed into a parked car at Miners Rest. He was not wearing a helmet at the time.
The number of fatal collisions this year have police worried it could be the start of a tragic year on the region's roads, given no lives were lost in the region until the end of March last year.
The number of lives lost across the state has also increased by more than 50 per cent compared to the same time last year.
Officer in charge of Ballarat and Moorabool Highway Patrol, Senior Sergeant Stuart Gale, said one particularly worrying factor was that two of the fatalities this year were motorcyclists, who are deemed to be vulnerable road users.
In the previous three years 10 of the region's 40 road fatalities were vulnerable road users, including motorcyclists, cyclists and pedestrians.
Senior Sergeant Gale said that aside from fatalities, vulnerable road users also factored into the region's serious injury collisions.
"Vulnerable road users are not in a car so they don't have the same protections," he said.
Vulnerable road users are not in a car so they don't have the same protections
- Senior Sergeant Stuart Gale
In a car a person is more protected by the body of the car and a seatbelt, but in the case of motorcyclists and cyclists the only protection they are afforded is their clothing and helmets.
He said when speed was factored in, which was continuously seen as a contributing factor in the region's road trauma, then the impact was even greater - potentially fatally so.
"When you're the driver of a vehicle then you've got control over the brakes, steering and acceleration so you are in control of the speed.
"If you choose to speed then you not only place yourself at risk but you place everybody around you at risk."
He said this included vulnerable road users.
"The human body can only withstand so much blunt force trauma," Senior Sergeant Gale said.
A recent operation in Ballarat was focused on three road safety issues in the region - speeding, impaired driving and vulnerable road users.
During this operation police detected 16 drink drivers and 11 drug drivers and issued 320 infringement notices. A high percentage of these notices were for speeding.
He described the trend of people not wearing seatbelts and helmets as "concerning".
"Seatbelts have been mandatory in Victoria for more than 50 years and helmets for more than 30 years," Senior Sergeant Gale said.
"So why is it that people are taking risks, that people now think it's okay not to wear a seatbelt or put on a helmet?
"I thought it was ingrained in our society that when you get into a car then you put on a seatbelt and when you hop on a motorcycle then you put on a helmet and wear protective gear?
"These are things designed to protect the human body when force is exerted upon it in a collision."
While police are continuing to work to ensure the safety of all road users, Senior Sergeant Gale implored everyone to be self-aware of their surroundings and to be respectful of other road users.
Road safety is everybody's obligation and responsibility - whether you're a pedestrian on the road, riding a bike, motorcycle or scooter or driving a car or truck.
- Senior Sergeant Stuart Gale
"Road safety is everybody's obligation and responsibility - whether you're a pedestrian on the road, riding a bike, motorcycle or scooter or driving a car or truck.
"Everyone needs to be respectful, aware of everybody else and to use the road accordingly."
It comes as a new campaign from the Transport Accident Commission highlights the injuries motorcycle riders could avoid by wearing their safety gear on every ride. It urges riders to wear protective clothing each time they get on their bike, no matter the distance or speeds travelled, the weather or the destination.
TAC data reveals fractured limbs to be the most common type of injury sustained in motorcycle collisions in Victoria, followed by contusions, abrasions and lacerations.
There has been an average of 2,500 motorcyclist claims per year during the past five years, equating to around $115 million annually in compensation and medical bills.
The TAC has also partnered with KidSafe to encourage the community to keep an eye out for children around driveways, with an average of seven children killed and 60 seriously injured due to being run over in driveways each year.
TAC Chief Executive Joe Calafiore said it had been a tragic start to 2022.
"We won't sit by and accept it - we can all play our part by slowing down, wearing a seatbelt, putting the phone away, driving well rested and not drunk or on drugs."
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