Seventeen pedestrians have been killed in Victoria this year.

While it’s a figure one higher than at the same in 2025, last year’s total pedestrian deaths on Victorian roads tallied 52, which was the highest toll since 2008, when 59 pedestrians died.

In response to the spike in deaths and injuries, Victoria Police will begin a pedestrian safety road policing operation this week, named Operation Aware.

During the operation, police will focus on addressing behaviour that leads to trauma among the most vulnerable road users.

Operation Aware will run until September.

“While May has traditionally been our highest-risk month for pedestrian trauma, already this year we’ve seen a concerning spike of pedestrian deaths and injuries during April,” Road Policing Acting Assistant Commissioner Justin Goldsmith said.

The highest risk period for collision involving pedestrians is historically from May to August, with reduced visibility due to fewer daylight hours and inclement weather playing a part.

In 2025, there were seven pedestrian fatalities in May.

This year, there were six during April, with most occurring in the last two weeks of the month.

Operation Aware will run in priority high-risk areas where there are lots of pedestrians intersecting with other road users.

Police will focus on areas with a 40 to 60km/h speed zone, which is where pedestrian trauma most commonly occurs.

They have identified morning and evening commute times on weekdays as the highest-risk times, citing failure to give way, by both drivers and pedestrians, as the most common contributing factor to pedestrian deaths.

“This is not about levelling blame at anyone, this is about saving lives and reducing the amount of trauma on our roads,” Acting Asst Commissioner Goldsmith said.

“We’ll be focusing on behaviours that put pedestrians at risk of being involved in a collision — whether that’s failing to give way, distraction, speeding, impaired driving, riding on the footpath, or not using designated crossings.”

With more than half (55 per cent) of pedestrian deaths usually at sections of the road with no traffic lights or pedestrian crossings, police will also proactively engage with pedestrians and encourage them to use designated footpaths and crossings for safety.

“Pedestrians have little to no protection, so when they’re involved in a collision with a vehicle, the consequences can be catastrophic,” Acting Asst Commissioner Goldsmith said.

Police issued 266 traffic infringements during Operation Aware in June last year, including 62 speeding offences, 39 mobile phone offences and 16 disobeying traffic signs/signal offences.

Police from local and state highway patrol units, solo units, and bike and foot patrol will be involved in Operation Aware.

For more information and tips for staying safe on the roads visit the Victoria Police website.

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Monday, 29th March 2027

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