Easter period road toll rises to five

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.
Police say another two people who were travelling on a bike with a side car crashed
while trying to avoid the collision, which happened outside the Pine Lodge Cemetery
on the Dookie-Shepparton Road about 2.20pm (AEDT).
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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