Shepparton police are hosting a community forum to address the concerns and questions of the public.

Shepparton police Inspector Bruce Simpson said police were concerned about the amount of incidents on local roads this year.

“What we’re really concerned about at the moment is the increase in the amount of road trauma in this area,” Inspector Simpson said.

“We recently had the results of our community survey come back and road safety was one of the main concerns, so we wanted to have a further discussion with the community as to what those concerns actually look like specifically, and so we've organised for a road safety forum next week. All community are welcome.”

Senior Sergeant Emma Moloney said the number of road fatalities was up on this time last year.

“Last year, the number of lives lost on the road was at a 15-year high across the state,” Sen Sgt Moloney said.

“As of this morning, it was still 208 lives lost on the road statewide compared to 205 this time last year, so we've seen an increase of three since then.

“Locally in Shepparton, we've seen 10 lives lost on the road this year, which is absolutely devastating and obviously of enormous concern to us as well.”

The causes of crashes and the people involved are varied, she said.

“The age ranges are not focused on the younger population, which most people assume,” she said.

“It's actually a mixture between the 36-to-55 and the 65-and-up age groups.

“The majority of the causation that we’re seeing are seen from single vehicle collisions with a single occupant and contributing factors towards that will be mainly fatigue, distraction and high speed.”

She warned the public about the importance of slowing down and driving carefully.

“Everyone has a role to play in road safety, and it affects everybody,” Sen Sgt Moloney said.

“We're just asking people, ultimately, to make better choices, plan ahead, slow down.

“The difference between slowing down a little bit and life and death are paramount.”

She also highlighted the importance of driving safely, no matter how well you knew the roads in the area.

“It's country people that are dying on country roads, so we just want to reiterate that although you’re local, it doesn’t mean that it affects you any less in terms of road trauma,” she said.

With the grand final weekend approaching, Shepparton police want the community to also be aware of the upcoming Operation Scoreboard.

“We just want to remind people over those long weekends to make your choice,” Sen Sgt Moloney said.

“If you’re going to be drinking, partying, whatever it may be, make sure you’re not behind the wheel, ensure alternative ways of travelling.”

The forum will explore topics including:

The forum will be run by a Victoria Police panel supported by key stakeholders, and questions will be taken from the audience throughout the event.

The event will be held on Wednesday, September 25 from 10am to noon at the conference room in the Parklake Hotel, 481 Wyndham St, Shepparton.

To attend, please register by sending your details to SHEPPARTON.UNI@police.vic.gov.au or head to tinyurl.com/RoadSafetyForumGV

To submit a question before the forum, you can head to tinyurl.com/GVForumQuestions

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