The Transport Accident Commission (TAC) has urged motorists to slow down as this year’s road toll passes the number of deaths recorded on State roads at the same time last year.
Minister for Roads and Road Safety, Ben Carroll said this year’s road toll reached 156 people last week, with eight more deaths on Victorian roads than last year.
Mr Carroll said findings from the TAC’s Community Engagement and Social Acceptability Research (CESAR) study revealed around two thirds of motorists thought they were safe to exceed the speed limit by up to 10 km/h, despite more than three quarters of drivers acknowledging that speeding was unacceptable.
“Exceeding the speed limit by just small amounts significantly increases the risk of crashing,” Mr Carroll said.
“The majority of Victorians do the right thing on the roads, but this study shows that too many people still think that only a few kilometres over the limit won’t hurt – the evidence shows that it does,” he said.
The Minister said that at 3 km/h over the limit, crash risk increased by 25 per cent; at 5 km/h over the limit, it increased by almost 50 per cent; and at 10 km/h over the limit, crash risk doubled.
Mr Carroll said infringement data across the first three quarters of 2020-21 showed that despite Victoria’s COVID-19 restrictions, some drivers demonstrated an “alarming disregard” for abiding by speed limits.
