Extra cops called in to man Riverina roads after fatality surge

Operation Spoiler will see more than 90 officers deployed from Sydney-based sectors of the South West command to the Riverina, Murray River and Murrumbidgee police districts throughout 2024.

The operation comes after 35 fatalities on roads across the three police districts within the Riverina in 2023.

Riverina Highway Patrol Acting Superintendent Greg Donaldson said most of these fatalities could have been prevented and were the result of someone doing something they shouldn't have been.

"Forty-one per cent of drivers who caused fatal crashes were speeding, 25 were taking drugs sometime before they drove, 20 per cent were taking alcohol, 15 per cent weren't wearing a seatbelt or fell asleep at the wheel," he said.

"Throughout 2023 there were 35 deaths on roads in the Murray, Riverina and Murrumbidgee police districts. They came from 30 fatal crashes."

Of the 30 fatal crashes, 11 were in the Riverina Police District, 9 were in the Murray River Police District and 10 were in the Murrumbidgee Police District.

"There is a misconception in rural areas that the people who are dying on country roads are city folks who come down here for holidays and don't know how to drive to the conditions but overwhelmingly, that is not correct," Superintendent Donaldson said.

"Fatalities in Murray, Murrumbidgee and Riverina police districts were prominently local people driving on roads they know and dying in communities they were a part of.

"They're somebody's husband, wife, friend, relative, they know their communities and the people who attend the accidents know them and the impacts they have on these communities are immeasurable.

"There also massive impacts on our emergency services who have to go and inform the relatives of the passing of a loved one."

Superintendent Donaldson said there is no such thing as an accident.

"These are all crashes caused as a result of someone doing something wrong," he said.

"The most common causing factor was excessive speed - driving over the speed limit or driving too fast for conditions.

"Alcohol, drug intake and fatigue are also a big factor.

"It's the selfish minority causing these crashes, people are killing other people on our roads from an action they could have prevented."

Every serious and fatal crash has a huge impact on all involved and Superintendent Donaldson said police will do everything in their power to prevent more crashes from happening in 2024.

"The scenes are very traumatic, not just for the police who arrive but for the people who are first at the scene who are generally other members of the community who are known to those who have passed away or been seriously injured in the cars," he said.

"Police aren't robots - we have a number of police across NSW who are on an extended sick report with PTSD. It's life-changing for the first responders."

While there has been speculation in recent years around police staffing numbers being at an all-time low, Superintendent Donaldson said a lack of resources isn't behind the surge in road fatalities.

"It's about fatal trends, because of the speeding and the type of roads in rural areas there has been an increase in fatalities in rural areas - the numbers of police have stayed the same," he said.

"If these enforcement strategies are working we will keep them going."

Before offending, police are urging motorists to think of their loved ones and the loved ones of others.

"Plan your trips, be considerate, don't be so selfish, the world doesn't revolve around you," Superintendent Donaldson said.

"Why are you so important that you have to be anywhere faster than anyone else? Speeding doesn't make a big difference in the time that you arrive, it might add an extra five minutes onto a long trip and the consequences are terrible, consider your mum, your dad, your kids, your friends, those communities, my emergency services workers."

Riverina Highway Patrol Traffic Inspector Darren Moulds said while the vast majority of motorists do the right thing, the minority of those who don't remain a big problem.

"Speed is one of the major cause of factors of fatal crashes so we will continue to focus on our speed enforcement," he said.

"We will continue to focus right across the wider police district.

"Of course, there is a focus on our main arterial roads but we also look at our feeder roads and our back roads."