Greater Bendigo's road toll was among the highest in the state over the 12 months to last September, a new report shows.
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The Transport Accident Commission has published its latest Towards Zero Road Safety Quarterly Statistics Report, which details the locations and numbers of crashes across the state.
"Greater Geelong (14), Mornington Peninsula (12), Greater Bendigo (10), Frankston (8) and 7 each in South Gippsland and Mount Alexander councils had the highest numbers of lives lost," the TAC said, "compared to all other LGAs during this period."
The total of 10 deaths on Greater Bendigo's roads over the year to last September was up on the September 2019 figure of five.
The five-year average for deaths in the municipality was five.
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There was also an increased number of fatal crashes over the 12 months to September in the Mount Alexander Shire, rising from two in 2019 to seven last year.
But there was a big drop in the number of fatalities over the same period in the Macedon Ranges and Loddon shires. The road toll was steady or down slightly for the Campaspe, Central Goldfields and Buloke shires.
The toll is down so far this year for Victoria as a whole, the TAC said.
Police again expressed frustration recently about the behaviour of central Victorian motorists, questioning why road safety messages were not being taken on board.
Local officers are currently running Operation ELIAS in response to a rise in road trauma in the region during 2020. Early indications suggested an increased police presence was having an effect, with police targeting high-risk driving, as well as alcohol and drug-driving offences, speeding, and distraction offences.
Over the first month of the operation, which was launched in early December, the number of serious injury crashes was down by almost half.