Police officers and TAC educators will visit every corner of the state as road authorities crack down on drivers who take fatal risks.

The move comes as Victoria’s annual road toll continues to increase for a third consecutive year. Victorians on regional roads are increasingly vulnerable. Police expect this year’s toll could reach 300. The TAC says regional drivers are four times more likely to be killed and 40 per cent more likely to be seriously injured. 

Authorities are intent on ensuring drivers are educated – as the Towards Zero message and need to get #homesafe, as promoted by Fairfax Media, continues failing to change driver behaviour. 

TAC chief executive Joe Calafiore said the  “completely heartbreaking” road toll was representative of a year of “terrible tragedy”. 

“We’re urging everyone to slow down, plan your trip, and take your time,” roads minister Luke Donnellan said. “As we head into the busy holiday season, we’ll be doing everything we can to ensure Victorians arrive safely, with more speed enforcement, more random breath tests, and more police officers blitzing the roads.”

Between now and the end of January, TAC teams will attend more than 40 country racing days, music festivals and other community events to urge people to think about the speed they’re travelling, and to take extra care. The TAC’s youth program, the Vanessa van, will be at summer music festivals and events providing free breath tests. 

Joanne van Gaans, whose teenage son was killed by a drunk driver, has pleaded for young people to think before they get behind the wheel or get in a car with an alcohol-affected driver.

“Look at your mum or dad. How would they feel if that got that call?,” she said.

“(How would they feel) if they, like I had to, have to go to the morgue to identify their child’s body?

“They don’t understand how hard it is. The pain never goes away, it is there every day.”