Police prioritise pedestrian safety following rise in trauma

Following a significant recent spike in pedestrian deaths and injuries, police are prioritising pedestrian safety with a road policing operation commencing this week.

Operation Aware will see police focused on addressing behaviour that leads to trauma among our most vulnerable road users and will run until September.

It comes as 17 pedestrians have lost their lives in Victoria this year – up slightly from 16 at the same time last year.

There were 52 total pedestrian deaths on Victorian roads in 2025, the highest in 17 years since 59 in 2008.

May to August is historically the highest risk period for collisions involving pedestrians, with reduced visibility due to less daylight hours and inclement weather during winter both major contributing factors.

May was the deadliest month for pedestrians in 2025, with seven fatalities.

Concerningly, there were six pedestrian deaths during April this year, with the majority of these occurring in the last two weeks of the month.

Operation Aware will run in priority high-risk metro areas where there are lots of pedestrians intersecting with other road users, including Melbourne CBD, Glen Eira, Stonnington, Monash, Whitehorse, Casey, Hume, Wyndham and Geelong.

Police will focus on areas with 40-60km/h speed zones which is where pedestrian trauma most commonly occurs, with weekdays between morning and evening peak commutes identified as the highest-risk times.

Failing to give way, by both drivers and pedestrians is the most common contributing factor to pedestrian deaths.

During Operation Aware, police will be on the lookout for vehicles failing to give way, as well as other behaviours that put pedestrians at risk such as distraction, speeding, impaired driving and riding on the footpath.

With 55 per cent of pedestrian deaths typically occurring mid-block (section of road with no traffic lights or pedestrian crossing), police will also proactively engage with pedestrians and encourage use of designated footpaths and crossings to help keep themselves safe.

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

Operation Aware will involve local and state highway patrols, solo unit, bike patrols and police foot patrols.

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

Quotes attributable to Road Policing Acting Assistant Commissioner, Justin Goldsmith:

“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.

“It is absolutely paramount now that we prioritise pedestrian safety and do all we can to protect our most vulnerable road users.

“Our road policing intelligence helps us recognise when, where and most importantly, why pedestrian trauma is occurring, and we’ll be prioritising and addressing these issues during Operation Aware.

“This is not about levelling blame at anyone, this is about saving lives and reducing the amount of trauma on our roads.

“We’ll be focusing on behaviours that puts 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.

“All road users should consider not only their own safety, but how their actions can impact the safety of others.

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

Media Unit

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