Thirteen people died in eight separate car crashes in the Moira Shire alone last year.
One crash at Strathmerton in April claimed the lives of five people in what was, at the time, Victoria’s worst crash in 11 years.
It is a statistic that astounds the Cobram Highway Patrol sergeant.
“It is 70 per cent higher than 2022,” Sgt Dockrey said.
In 2022, there were 10 deaths on the roads in the whole of the Wangaratta Police Area, which includes Moira Shire.
Fast forward a year, and there was a total of 17 deaths in the Wangaratta Police Area, with 13 of those in the Moira Shire.
According to Sgt Dockrey, the number of deaths in 2022 was “reasonably normal”.
Last year was anything but normal.
“I’ve been in highway patrol at Cobram for 12 years and I’ve never experienced this level of road trauma,” he said.
And it was not just fatalities that saw a rise in Moira Shire.
Sgt Dockrey said there was also a six per cent increase in serious injury collisions.
It is something he shakes his head in dismay about.
“Everyone’s doing their best to deter this sort of thing from happening but it just kept happening,” he said.
Sgt Dockrey said the speed limit had been dropped to 80km/h on Labuan Rd after the crash that killed five people at the intersection of Labuan Rd and the Murray Valley Hwy at Strathmerton in April, yet police were still detecting people excessively speeding on that road regularly.
“I wonder what else to do. We task patrols to a particular road, carry out testing, and warn people it’s a dangerous area,” he said.
“Aside from intercepting, enforcing and advising, where else do we go?”
Sgt Dockrey labelled 2023 as one of the worst years on record for road trauma in the region, and said the deaths had a drastic effect on the whole community.
He urged motorists not to take risks with speeding, phones, or other distractions when driving.
“Let’s all be around to talk about this next year,” he said.
He also encouraged people to report consistent bad drivers to Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or the police assistance line at 131 444.
“We’re looking for systemic bad driving,” he said.
“It’s up to all of us. It’s not just the police’s responsibility.”
While saying the primary responsibility rests with the drivers themselves, Sgt Dockrey also urged people to have difficult conversations with friends or family members about their bad driving or if they needed a medical check to continue to have a licence.
“We don’t want to report any more deaths,” he said.
He also urged anyone who saw dangerous driving on the road happening in front of them to call 000.
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