The death of a Warrnambool woman is part of a police campaign to prioritise pedestrian safety following a significant recent spike in such fatalities.
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A 61-year-old Warrnambool woman died on Friday, June 7, after being involved in a collision at a notorious intersection on Wednesday, June 5.
She was walking south on Ardlie Street when she was involved in the collision with a tradesman heading east in a van on Raglan Parade.
The woman was taken to Warrnambool Base Hospital with life-threatening injuries and later transported to a Melbourne hospital, where she later died.
Operation Aware will see police focused on addressing behaviour that leads to trauma among our most vulnerable road users.
It comes as 26 pedestrians have lost their lives in Victoria this year - up 62 per cent on the same time last year (16).
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.
The operation will run until the end of September.
Almost half of this year's pedestrian deaths occurred during the last two months, with seven fatalities recorded in June and a further five in May.
Operation Aware will run in priority high-risk areas where lots of pedestrians are intersecting with other road users.
Between 2019 and 2023, more than 80 per cent of pedestrian injury collisions occurred each year in metro Melbourne areas, with weekdays between 2pm and 8pm identified as the most high-risk time.
Police will be engaging, and enforcing where necessary, with all road users during Operation Aware, with local and state highway patrols, solo unit, bike patrols and police foot patrols all involved.
Analysis of this year's fatalities has indicated that 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.
Road Policing Assistant Commissioner Glenn Weir said the operation was about doing all we can to protect our most vulnerable road users - particularly as we've seen such a significant spike in pedestrian deaths this year.
"Pedestrians have little to no protection, so when they're involved in a collision with a vehicle, the consequences can be catastrophic," he said.
"We've conducted thorough analysis to understand when, where and most importantly, why trauma involving pedestrians 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 all road users and all behaviours that put pedestrians at risk of being involved in a collision - whether it's failing to give way, distraction, speeding, impaired driving, riding on the footpath, or not using designated crossings.
"We want everyone to think about not only their own safety but how their behaviour can impact the safety of others."
