FED: Five road deaths at start of Easter long weekend

AAP General News (Australia)
04-02-2010
FED: Five road deaths at start of Easter long weekend

By Andrew Drummond

SYDNEY, April 2 AAP - Australia's Easter long weekend road toll stands at five with
three of the deaths involving motorcycle accidents in Victoria and the ACT.

In the Victorian smash, two men died when their motorbikes collided head-on near Shepparton
in the state's central region.

The collision occurred about 2.20pm (AEDT) on Friday on the Dookie-Shepparton Road.

Another man, 53, and a woman, 18, riding separate motorbikes, were seriously injured
after swerving to avoid the collision. They have been airlifted to hospital.

Also on Friday in the ACT, a 46-year-old motorcyclist died after his bike left Uriarra
Road, north of Cotter Dam, and went down an embankment.

The incident occurred about 1pm (AEDT) and the man, from the ACT suburb of Holt, died
at the scene, police said.

South Australia recorded its first Easter road death in two years on Friday about 2.40pm
(AEDT) when a vehicle rolled off a road about 2km north of Eudunda, killing a woman.

The first Easter road death occurred in NSW on Thursday when a utility and a small
four-wheel drive collided on the state's south coast.

An 86-year-old woman died after the Toyota Hilux she was a passenger in collided with
a Honda CRV about 1pm (AEDT) on Thursday on Darkes Forest Road, north of Wollongong.

The woman and the driver of the utility, an 85-year-old man, were taken to St George
Hospital where the woman later died, police said.

The four people in the Honda - the 54-year-old female driver, a 55-year-old male passenger,
an infant girl aged 16 months and a female toddler almost three years old - escaped injury.

Meanwhile, police in NSW and Victoria are dismayed at the attitude of drivers this Easter.

In the 24 hours up to midnight (AEDT) Thursday, NSW police issued 2,191 traffic infringement
notices, including 1,460 for speeding.

In Victoria, just a few hours into the long weekend, police said 863 drivers had been
caught speeding, with another 57 charged with drink driving.

NSW Assistant Commissioner John Hartley, who heads up the Traffic Services Branch,
on Friday warned motorists police would maintain a high presence throughout the long weekend.

"Police will be out there playing their part to keep the roads safe this holiday period,"

he said in a statement.

"However, it's the responsibility of individual drivers which will determine whether
they reach their destination in one piece."

Victorian deputy commissioner for road policing Ken Lay urged motorists to slow down.

"I urge people who are on the road today to think about that and just remember, slowing
down will not kill you, but speeding could," he said.



(EDS: AAP's Easter road toll figures are for the period 0001 April 1 to 2359 April
5. Some states and territories may have different periods.)



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