Sixteen people were killed and more than 900 injured on the west’s roads in the past financial year.
RoadSafe Westgate’s annual report shows that of the injury and serious-injury collisions across the Westgate division in 2015-16, more than a third took place in Wyndham (332), followed by Melton (236), Maribyrnong (182) and Hobsons Bay (179).
The 2015-16 Westgate division road toll was 16 killed and 913 injured, while in 2014-15 the numbers were 17 killed and 987 injured.
Among the 2015-16 fatalities was a driver whose car burst into flames after it crossed double white lines and struck another car head-on on Dohertys Road, Laverton North. The driver died at the scene.
RoadSafe Westgate, a road safety advocacy group with programs across Wyndham, Melton, Hobsons Bay and Maribyrnong, said while inroads were being made to the local road toll, more needed to be done.
Chairman Jim Giddings said RoadSafe Westgate had been proactive in getting the road safety message out via workshops and billboards targeting L-platers, P-platers and senior drivers.
“The challenges of road safety issues are still there,” he said, “but by bringing our local communities on board we will continue to drive changes, including legislative changes, to meet their expectations.”
The annual report says speed, hoon driving, and drink and drug driving remain the greatest contributors to road trauma, but driver distraction offences, including using mobile phones behind the wheel, are on the rise.
Hooning remains a major problem in Wyndham, with 226 cars impounded over the 2015 calendar year, and 128 cars impounded in the first six months of 2016.
Between January 1 and June 30, 2016, 65 cars were impounded in Melton, 29 in Hobsons Bay and 27 in Maribyrnong.
Wyndham also recorded the highest ratio of positive breath tests, with one in every 511 drivers tested returning a positive result.
On the flip side, highway patrol units recorded a decrease in drivers caught speeding in every area, with speeding offences dropping by almost half in Wyndham and Hobsons Bay.
