Hitting The Grim Reaper Head On
May 30th 2008 02:47
By Corey Gallichan
The road toll in Victoria is getting worse and worse every year and it is not dropping. Rural Victoria is one of the worst areas for road deaths with 189 deaths between 2007 and 2008. This number continues to grow. The great amounts of fatalities on our Victorian roads are due to drink-driving, speeding and ignoring the road rules. The roads are also an immense problem and need to be fixed, with a lot of them too windey, full of pot holes and surrounding trees.
Between 2007 and 2008 the road toll in Victoria was 348 which was a 7% rise between 2006 and 2007. These figures posted on the TAC safety website are shocking and it is truly depressing to think that these drivers would jump into a car after drinking alcohol. Drivers who drag in the streets also cause many accidents by crashing into street signs, power poles, trees and houses. Movies such as The Fast And The Furious: Tokyo Drift are huge influences on young drivers to drag race in the streets because they make it look cool to race recklessly. TAC’s road safety general manager, David Healy said, “Films like this primarily target young males, who because of their lack of driving experience and general propensity to take risks, already have an increased chance of crashing. It makes it difficult for road safety agencies to improve the behaviours of young drivers when such contradictory entertainment is being heavily promoted to them.” But Clinton Joyce, of Toyo Tyres, which has sponsored drift racing for three years, said he thought the movie would encourage people to try drift racing properly, on designated tracks. “We are completely against drift racing on the road, that’s why we sponsor organised events, “Joyce said. Drag racing needs to be stopped quickly before too many people become victims because of it.
Young drivers were among the biggest fatalities on our roads over the last year, but it is actually the 30 to 40 year olds and the 70 plus year olds who lead the road toll. Between eighteen and twenty-year-olds have only had 27 deaths over the last year according to TAC website. Deaths of young teens over the past have not been as common as older people over the past five years, with the average being 39 deaths. The 30-39 age bracket have had the worst average with 54 deaths. Way over half of these road deaths are males, with 247 of them dying over 2007 and 2008, while 101 women also died. Both genders rose this year with 10% more female deaths and 6% more male deaths over the last year according to the TAC website. People always think that young drivers are the ones who die the most on our roads, but they aren’t, which is a great sign to see young people road deaths shrinking. But that doesn’t mean the road toll is getting better. Older drivers dying on the road is becoming more common, which is not good. These older drivers, such as 70 year olds, need to be off the roads because they are risking their lives.
This year’s Easter road toll took 23 lives, compared to last year’s 27, which is a good indicator that maybe the message is working. Though the death toll was lowered this year, there are still too many people dying over the Easter holiday. The Easter holiday is supposed to be about fun and a happy time, but these young teens are drink-driving with their mates and speeding in the streets. New South Wales encountered no deaths this Easter, which was the safest since 1949. While there were no deaths in New South Wales and the ACT, the high amount of deaths in Western Australia and Queensland has thrown the spotlight onto scourges of speeding and drink-driving. The two states had seven and six deaths respectively this Easter. New South Wales Police Minister David Campbell praised New South Wales drivers and police for keeping the state a fatality-free zone during Easter. "That's the first time since 1949, since road statistics have been kept, and we've had a population that has doubled and there are 13 times more cars on the road since that time so ... it is a good result," Mr. Campbell said. This is a target for all states of Australia to beat next year and to lower the road toll in Australia. "I offer my congratulations and thanks to drivers of NSW and the police of NSW for a strong effort over the weekend with no deaths on NSW roads," Campbell continued. This Easter Victoria had five deaths, Tasmania three and both South Australia and Northern Territory had one. These four states didn’t have as many deaths as last year, which is a good sign we are heading towards a death-free Easter.
The drivers who are drink-driving and speeding don’t realise how much suffering the families endure by losing a loved one. Families go through so much pain, some may become depressed and others just cry about it with their family. Many of them continue to ignore road laws and put themselves at a risk of death. These families go through so much pain and they have to live with it for the rest of their lives, because they will never have a mother, father, son or daughter to be by their side for the remainder of their life. We have to do something about this epidemic before it’s too late.
The road toll in Victoria is getting worse and worse every year and it is not dropping. Rural Victoria is one of the worst areas for road deaths with 189 deaths between 2007 and 2008. This number continues to grow. The great amounts of fatalities on our Victorian roads are due to drink-driving, speeding and ignoring the road rules. The roads are also an immense problem and need to be fixed, with a lot of them too windey, full of pot holes and surrounding trees.
Between 2007 and 2008 the road toll in Victoria was 348 which was a 7% rise between 2006 and 2007. These figures posted on the TAC safety website are shocking and it is truly depressing to think that these drivers would jump into a car after drinking alcohol. Drivers who drag in the streets also cause many accidents by crashing into street signs, power poles, trees and houses. Movies such as The Fast And The Furious: Tokyo Drift are huge influences on young drivers to drag race in the streets because they make it look cool to race recklessly. TAC’s road safety general manager, David Healy said, “Films like this primarily target young males, who because of their lack of driving experience and general propensity to take risks, already have an increased chance of crashing. It makes it difficult for road safety agencies to improve the behaviours of young drivers when such contradictory entertainment is being heavily promoted to them.” But Clinton Joyce, of Toyo Tyres, which has sponsored drift racing for three years, said he thought the movie would encourage people to try drift racing properly, on designated tracks. “We are completely against drift racing on the road, that’s why we sponsor organised events, “Joyce said. Drag racing needs to be stopped quickly before too many people become victims because of it.
This year’s Easter road toll took 23 lives, compared to last year’s 27, which is a good indicator that maybe the message is working. Though the death toll was lowered this year, there are still too many people dying over the Easter holiday. The Easter holiday is supposed to be about fun and a happy time, but these young teens are drink-driving with their mates and speeding in the streets. New South Wales encountered no deaths this Easter, which was the safest since 1949. While there were no deaths in New South Wales and the ACT, the high amount of deaths in Western Australia and Queensland has thrown the spotlight onto scourges of speeding and drink-driving. The two states had seven and six deaths respectively this Easter. New South Wales Police Minister David Campbell praised New South Wales drivers and police for keeping the state a fatality-free zone during Easter. "That's the first time since 1949, since road statistics have been kept, and we've had a population that has doubled and there are 13 times more cars on the road since that time so ... it is a good result," Mr. Campbell said. This is a target for all states of Australia to beat next year and to lower the road toll in Australia. "I offer my congratulations and thanks to drivers of NSW and the police of NSW for a strong effort over the weekend with no deaths on NSW roads," Campbell continued. This Easter Victoria had five deaths, Tasmania three and both South Australia and Northern Territory had one. These four states didn’t have as many deaths as last year, which is a good sign we are heading towards a death-free Easter.
The drivers who are drink-driving and speeding don’t realise how much suffering the families endure by losing a loved one. Families go through so much pain, some may become depressed and others just cry about it with their family. Many of them continue to ignore road laws and put themselves at a risk of death. These families go through so much pain and they have to live with it for the rest of their lives, because they will never have a mother, father, son or daughter to be by their side for the remainder of their life. We have to do something about this epidemic before it’s too late.
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Comment by Daniel Fary
You just need to engage the audience more, and involve them further.
Comment by Anonymous
Comment by Anonymous