Only twelve municipalities fatality free in 2009

06 Jan 2010

MEDIA RELEASE: 06 January 2010

Transport Accident Commission statistics reveal that only twelve of Victoria's 79 shire councils had no road fatalities in 2009.

The TAC has today released the road toll in each local government area for 2009 and trends over the past five years.

15 people lost their lives on roads in the Yarra Ranges Shire in 2009, making it the worst location for road fatalities in the state.

There were 14 fatalities on roads in the East Gippsland Shire, 10 in the City of Casey and 10 in the City of Greater Geelong.

TAC Road Safety Manager Samantha Cockfield said the local government area statistics were a stark reminder of the many people affected by road trauma in Victoria.

"Although Victoria has recorded the lowest road toll since records began last year, there were still 295 tragedies for Victorian families,” Ms Cockfield said.

"Every life lost on our roads is one too many.”

The statistics show there were no fatalities in 2009 in the municipalities of Ararat, Benalla, Central Goldfields, Gannawarra, Golden Plains, Hepburn, Hindmarsh, Pyrenees, Queenscliffe, Stonnington, Towong and the Southern Grampians.

"Some of these shires include major highways and busy intersections, yet there were no fatal crashes," Ms Cockfield said.

"The statistics show that the work of the TAC, Victoria Police, VicRoads and other road safety organisations is having an impact in some areas.”

"At a local level, councils, police and community groups are working together to keep the roads safe,” Ms Cockfield said.

"This work will continue in 2010 and I urge all road users to take responsibility for their safety on the roads and help us reduce road trauma,” Ms Cockfield said.

View the full report on road deaths on Victorian roads by lga during 2009 here (pdf 114k) 

Media contact: Emily Bogue 5225 6450, 0429 416 778.