Sponsors RoadSafe East Gippsland would not operate as effectively without the support of sponsors who continue to assist with the promotion of road safety within the community.

McDonalds Restaurants Esso/BHP East Gippsland and Wellington Shires TAC Coates Hire 3TR FM & ABC Radio Sale

Members RoadSafe East Gippsland could not have survived for the past 2 years without a few passionate people driving it and I would like to take this opportunity to thank those people.

Neil Breeden for his support as a committee person with his expertise in local

government and engineering background, Neil your assistance has been truly appreciated.

Daryl Townsend, for his tireless work on the Eastern Region Motorcycle Working Party.

Daryl has put in many hours behind the scenes researching motorcycle crash data and producing material that was the bases for a successful grant for funding from TAC to further address motorcycle safety within the region.

Kate Earle for her passion for Bike Ed and the Bike Ed Challenge.

Alwyn Adams for the operation of the VMS / SOS trailer and providing data to the

police regarding speeding complaints.

Graeme Fairhall for looking after the Wellington mobile billboard trailer and skins,

Graeme is also assisted by Alwyn.

Leading Senior Constable Peter Burslem, for his support as the police representative.

Garry Oliver for support through obtaining donations from Esso/BHP and for

overseeing the production and distribution of the RoadSafe football fixtures each year.

Lauren Carey who although contracted by VicRoads as a presenter, has become a

defacto member of the committee heavily involved in the planning process and production of numerous funding applications.

I owe a special thanks to Alana McCallum our road safety officer who had the unenvious task of having to look after the 4 RoadSafe groups within the Eastern Region. Alana has provided a wealth of information and support for me especially and I cannot thank her enough. Thanks also to her able assistant Deborah Kirk who was always approachable when I needed something.

This is the last Chairperson’s report for the East Gippsland RoadSafe which closes the book on 21 years of service to the public. I wish the new committee of the newly formed Gippsland RoadSafe all the best and I am sure that they will continue in the footsteps of so many before them in delivering the message; “Be RoadSafe”.

David Carey APM Chairperson RoadSafe East Gippsland.

“WHAT IS A CRASH?” A crash is a rare, random, multi-factional event in which one or more people have failed to cope with their environment. [Human and Environment Factor]. I have been in Victoria Police for over 45 years, 40 of those in the traffic branch. During that time I have attended hundreds of crashes where people have been killed or seriously injured. During the past 45 years, vehicles have become much safer and the roads better and yet we still have people dying on our roads. Why? Sergeant Bellion of the Major Collision Investigation Unit, who has investigated over 2000 road deaths, told me some time ago that we have almost achieved as much as we can with the human element involved in road crash-es. In his opinion, the biggest changes will now come from the safety technology being built into motor vehicles that will eventually save lives on our roads. Already we have seen the fit-ting of side impact air bags reduce head injuries. The addition of ABS and ESC, along with other safety features such as sensors which apply the brakes when the vehicle is too close to the vehicle in front or sensors which correct the path of a vehicle when it moves out of the traffic lane, these improvements will all assist in reducing crashes and injury to vehicle occu-pants. Driver distraction and lack of concentration is still a major cause of crashes. As a member of the Victoria Police, I have been fortunate enough to have attended two exceptionally high standard driving courses; the Standard Car course early in my career and then the Pursuit Course after joining the traffic branch. As a young person, I thought I was a pretty good driver at the age of 19; guess what, I soon found out during the Standard Car course I wasn’t. What I gained the most from that course was learning how to “read the road” and the environment. Travelling through the streets of metropolitan Melbourne, we were able to travel at a much quicker and safer speed than the normal motorist which was required in our job, from being able to read the road and traffic and by looking well ahead. We all are now of the belief that if we can provide better training for our young people and get them into safer vehicles we will reduce the number of people killed annually. The Victoria Police is committed to road safety and will continue to support community road safety groups / programs for years to come in an effort to reduce trauma on our roads. Senior Sergeant David Carey APM Divisional Road Policing Advisor Easter Region Division 6 Sale.

RoadSafe Latrobe has been involved in many positive programs over the past 12 months, which are outlined below. Unfortunately in that same period, we lost 7 souls and a further 52 people sustained serious injuries as a result of motor vehicle collisions in the Latrobe Valley area. These are the lives that we can put a number on. There are countless others who have been affected by these road crashes. The husbands, wives, partners, mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, families, friends, work colleagues and the list goes on. There are the people who witnessed the crashes and the ones who had to attend them in their work or volunteer capacity. Many people are touched by the road toll; it’s more than just the fatalities.

The programs we have been involved in continue to spread the word on being safer on our roads.

Looking After Our Mates:

A program aimed at raising the awareness of responsible drinking, was delivered to not only sporting clubs but also to community groups. It was also incorporated into the Victoria Police “Being Safe Not Sorry” educational program.

Speed Observation Signs:

We now have 2 of these signs out on the roads of Latrobe. These signs are call upon by many groups within our community to promote road safety messages as well as monitoring speeds through local streets.

Bike Ed Challenge:

Our association continued with the International Power Children’s Traffic School

assisting children to become more aware of the road rules, road safety and traffic

etiquette.

Hypothetical's:

This year we developed a new program call Hypothetical. This program focused on how crashes happen from within the car and the affect that it can have on the lives of those in the car, families, friends and the community. Three sessions were delivered into secondary schools to all year 10, 11 & 12 students. The sessions have received very positive feedback from students, teachers and parents. This program was put

together in partnership with Victoria Police, Rural Ambulance Victoria, Victorian State Emergency Service, Magistrates’ Court (Coroners’ Court), Department of Education,

Latrobe Regional Hospital & Vic Roads. Without the valuable contribution of these

organisations these sessions would not be possible.

L2P’s We have supported this program with a member sitting on the

steering committee. We have also supported the program financially.

Whilst thanking people, I would like to make special mention of Alana McCallum. Alana is our Road Safety Officer who has done work above and beyond the call of duty. She has been a true asset to this group and the work she has done behind the scenes is invaluable. Without the assistance, knowledge and expertise of Alana this group would not have been able to function as efficiently as it has.

RoadSafe groups in the Eastern region of Victoria are about to enter into a new era with RoadSafe Latrobe leading the way. It is anticipated that we will change our name to RoadSafe Gippsland, to reflect the way we will run our organisation. This is an opportunity to become more focused on local issues and also lend a hand to

regional trends. The work load will no doubt increase as we embark on these chang-es. We will all need to be a working part of the group to make it viable.

I thank all those who have supported me as chair over the past 12 months and

encourage you to continue that support for our incoming chair.

Be road safe,

Andy Milbourne

Chairperson

It is a great pleasure to once again present an annual police report, and to take the opportunity to strongly reinforce to Eastern Region RoadSafe that local police support will continue to grow.

RoadSafe, Victoria Police and VicRoads will continue to strengthen close ties and work together in an effort to reduce trauma on our local roads. Through road safety programs such as “Looking After Our Mates”, “Keys Please” and continuing to develop the hypothetical discussion being presented in schools. We will continue to focus on reducing collisions attributable to speed, alcohol and fatigue, and we will continue to drive and promote the road safety message to the greater communities of Gippsland.

We have many committed and talented people behind the RoadSafe banner who give up valuable spare time because they believe what they do makes a difference. These people are anonymous, seek no gratitude and graciously work behind the scenes to keep people safe on our roads. On behalf of Superintendent Tess Walsh and myself l take this opportunity to thank you all for your dedication and efforts during the preceding 12 months.

Changes at Victoria Police There have been some recent organisational and boundary changes within Victoria Police that occurred on 1 July 2010. Gone is the old Region 5 Division 3 which encompassed the Local Government Areas of Latrobe, Bass Coast, South Gippsland and Baw Baw. The newly formed Eastern Region which incorporates approximately 44% percent of the state includes 6 Divisions with Latrobe, Bass Coast, South Gippsland and Baw Baw now falling within Division 5. Organisationally, gone are the Traffic Management Units and we now see the introduction of Local Highway Patrol Units and the State Highway Patrol Unit. The State Unit is capable of being deployed anywhere within the State to assist at major events or incidents or to bolster local resources during major road policing operations. This means additional police cars and members out on local roads with a focus on reducing road trauma and from time to time a real increase in police numbers on our local roads.

I reiterate the importance of having a strong media partnership and thank the media for their assistance and support of RoadSafes’ efforts in reducing road trauma.

Victoria Police has a strong commitment to lowering road trauma throughout the state. That commitment is strengthened by the support and network of the RoadSafe Committee.

As always, l look forward to working with Eastern Region RoadSafe over the next twelve months and for many years to come.

David WATSON Senior Sergeant Eastern Region Division