We continue to bear the brunt of traffic accidents involving kangaroos, according to the RACV.
Data released this week by the organisation’s insurance arm shows three locations in Central Victoria count among the state’s top ten most roo-prone areas.
Heathcote ranks third on that list, with 230 claims lodged for kangaroo-related collisions between January 2021 and June of this year.
Bendigo landed in seventh position with 181 claims, while Castlemaine bookended the top ten with 155.
Statewide, almost 31 thousand claims involving the marsupial were lodged over the same five-and-a-half-year period, with areas on Melbourne’s fringe seeing the sharpest rise in the number of collisions.
As the map below shows, six of the top ten locations where collisions most frequently occurred were within an hour’s drive of Melbourne.
“A lot of people assume this is only a rural-road issue,” RACV’s General Manager of Insurance and Roadside, Bill Bloodworth says.
“As our outer suburbs grow, more cars are sharing the road with more kangaroos, and the result is more collisions, more written-off vehicles and bigger repair bills for everyday Victorians.
“We tend to see higher claims volumes in the cooler months, when claims from April to August run more than 20 per cent higher than the rest of the year.
“The risk is greatest at dawn and dusk, so motorists should slow down, stay alert and scan the roadside, particularly where kangaroos are most active.”
Drivers are also advised to, when safe, use their high-beam lights to help spot wildlife sooner, and avoid swerving – which can lead to a more serious collision.
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