Ronan and Leanne Hume were sitting at home, about to go out for coffee when two police officers knocked on their door and told them their 21-year-old son Sam was dead.
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"It's the worst news anyone could possibly get," Mr Hume said.
"And the reality is it happens to normal people, we're just a normal family."
Sam was driving to work doing 100km/h down Mount Eliza Road near Romsey in July last year when he struck a kangaroo, swerved and crashed into a gumtree.
His name was added to the 2016 state's road toll. This year's has so far reached 237.
"As a mum, it's something I would never want to wish upon anybody," Mrs Hume said.
The Humes spoke about their daily grief in hope of getting drivers to take care on the roads.
"If we can stop one family from having to go through what we've been through," Mr Hume said.
"No one should ever get that news."
The holidays are harder still for the Humes as Sam's birthday is two days after Christmas.
"It kills us every day. Every day we wake up and we think about Sam, we go to bed and we think about Sam. It's all we think about all the time," Mr Hume said.
The Humes said the fact Sam made the split-second mistake of swerving away instead of braking hard was a lesson to everyone.
"It's not always the people that are hooning, not always the people that are drinking," Mr Hume said.
"Theres a hole in our heart and it'll go on forever."
Victoria Police has launched the three-week Roadwise campaign in a bid to bring road fatality numbers down over the holiday period.
An increased police presence will target speeding, mobile phone use, and drug and drink driving.
Road Policing Command Assistant Commissioner Doug Fryer said each year police decorated a memorial 'Lives Lost' Christmas tree with personalised baubles for each road victim.
"Tragically, we had to get a nine-foot tree," he said.
"Drive to survive because there is no-one someone won't miss."
- The Age
