Stop the carnage

POLICE have called on the community to help stop the mounting carnage among young drivers on Yarra Ranges roads.
The call comes after the death of Eugene Ong, 20, from Wantirna South, on the Black Spur last week.
Mr Ong died when the car he was a passenger in hit a tree shortly after 1.45am on Tuesday, 11 October.
The crash occurred within metres of the spot where two Healesville paramedics, Robert Bland and Phillip Oakley, were killed after the ambulance they were driving crashed in January 2004.
Mr Ong’s death follows that of Melissa Watt, 18, from Wandin North who was killed on Friday, 7 October when the sedan she was driving and a van collided on Hull Road in Lilydale.
Twelve days earlier Healesville teenager, Craig Hudson, 18, and Narre Warren man, Nathan Gray, were killed after the car Mr Hudson was driving crashed into another vehicle on Don Road, Healesville.
Yarra Ranges District Inspector Mick Beattie told the Mail last week that the behaviour of drivers was the biggest community safety issue in the region.
“People are actually dying or being badly injured on our roads on a regular basis, which is completely unacceptable and unnecessary,” he said.
“There needs to be a reality check here. These young people have died because a party involved in each crash has done something that has lead to that outcome.
“When you look at the causal factors it is the same old usual suspects. Whether it is speed or alcohol or drugs or carelessness, we are seeing the same factors over and over.”
He said the community was dealing with a “major attitudinal problem” among young drivers.
“The huge challenge with young drivers is the culture of selfishness. There appears to be a very sizeable percentage of young drivers who believe compliance with road laws is situational,” he said.
“If it suits them to speed, to drink and drive, to use cannabis and drive, they will do it.”
Insp Beattie said the solution needed to come from the community.
“We need parents with children who are now driving to think about whether they can do more to educate them,” he said.
“Police are out there vigorously enforcing driver safety in a highly visible way, yet we seem to be barely containing the problem.
“I encourage the community to step forward and express their outrage over these deaths.
“We need to raise public awareness and send a clear message to young drivers in our community.”
Insp Beattie said he was also concerned about the behaviour of drivers and motorcyclists coming into the Yarra Ranges.
“There is plenty of evidence of recreational driving and riding in the Yarra Ranges where young drivers in high performance vehicles are using our roads as race tracks with complete disregard for the risks to themselves and other drivers,” he said.
Acting Sergeant Mark Amos of the Major Collision Investigation Unit said the vehicle Mr Ong was travelling in was one of five cars belonging to a group of friends all travelling along the Black Spur.
He said it was too early to tell if the five cars had been involved in a highspeed race along the stretch of road.
He said police suspected that speed contributed to the vehicle leaving the road.
Sergeant Amos said the 22yearold male driver of the car, from the Clayton area, was taken to the Maroondah Hospital with minor injuries and the crash caused the closure of the Black Spur for more than eight hours.
Transport Minister Peter Batchelor said he was concerned about the tragic loss of life on roads in the Yarra Ranges.
“I am concerned about the disproportionate number of young people who have lost their lives or been injured in recent times in this part of Melbourne,” he said.
“These have all been preventable crashes and a concentrated community effort is required to combat the behaviour that leads to these outcomes.”