Final validated police statistics released yesterday showed there were 287 fatalities in 2011.

Victoria Police Deputy Commissioner Kieran Walshe said this was one less than the previous low record-breaking toll of 2010.

The figure included three fatalities in the Mildura Rural City Council region.

“While it could be said that’s a good result, we should never lose sight of the fact that 287 people are no longer with us and no longer with their families,” Mr Walshe said yesterday.

He said about a quarter of the road deaths were linked to vulnerable road users.

These included those not wearing seat belts, as was the case in one of the Mildura fatalities, or bike and motorcycle helmets.

There were reductions, however, in country road fatalities and crashes involving heavy vehicles, which were a focus for traffic police last year.

Mr Walshe said most fatalities involving pedestrians were not the fault of motorists, but of pedestrians who were distracted and not paying attention to their surroundings.

Speed has been a strong focus of Mildura Police in recent weeks during the holiday period.

But it has not just been high-level speeders who have been in the police’s sights.

Inspector Simon Clemence said low-level speeding was equally dangerous.

“We all know that increasing your speed increases your chance of being involved in a collision,” Inspector Clemence said.

“But I don’t think everyone understands the impact that travelling a few kilometres over the limit can have on our roads.

“When travelling in 60km/h zone, for every 5km/h over the limit, your risk of being involved in a collision doubles.”

The focus on low-level speeding is set to intensify over the next few days as school returns for 2012.

This article appeared in Thursday's Sunraysia Daily 2-2-2012.