The Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) says Victorians are paying for years of roads neglect with their lives as regional Victoria’s road toll soars more 156 per cent compared to the same time last year.
VFF President Brett Hosking said the state of regional Victoria’s roads is a major contributing factor to the tragic toll and has called on the governments to urgently fix the issue.
“The tragic reality is your more than three times likely to lose your life when driving on country roads when compared to driving in the city.”
“Rural Victorian roads have sadly claimed 23 lives this year, representing a 156 per cent increase on the same time last year. These aren’t just statistics, it’s our friends, family and loved ones.”
“Enough is enough. Genuine questions must be asked about as to what contributing factors are behind the accidents and there’s no doubt the state of country roads is a huge factor,” Mr Hosking said.
Mr Hosking has called on all levels of government to urgently address major funding shortfalls to rectify our country roads.
“Over the past year, government spending on resurfacing and resealing roads has dropped by a whopping 81 per cent. That only condemns our roads to ruin and sadly that’s now a reality.”
“Drivers are expected to maintain road worthy cars. It’s time for cars to drive car worthy roads to ensure drivers aren’t playing a daily game of roads roulette.”
“With a federal election looming, there’s no better time for our leaders to commit to genuinely fixing this mess.”
“We’re calling on all levels of government to urgently address the state of our crumbling regional roads for the sake of our safety,” Mr Hosking said.