On the 30th March 2023 the road toll affected my family dramatically.

My biological son was the passenger in a horrific car accident on the M1 Freeway. The driver of the car we also considered family - as he spent 5 years as a part of our home.

The road toll in 2023 was devastating for Victorians. Worse for family of the victims. 285 families said their last goodbyes last year.

I’m not sure how we fix it.

What my petition is for is to safely capture what’s causing these accidents. After my 2 boys Liam (forever 20) and Ben (forever 21) passed away I became fully aware of the system and how it works.

We all want to believe police will investigate to the best of their ability. Sadly we cannot rely on that – and I know that first hand. Witnesses at the scene are traumatised and mostly unsure of what happened. Which I can understand because witnessing an accident like that would be horrible. Most the witness statements I read, were taken many days after the incident.

I think in 2023 – why are we still relying on eye witness accounts.

My petition is to hold the Victorian government responsible for ensuring that no more witnesses have to relive event like this that have occurred – either on the spot or days later. No one should have to relive that and their accounts are generally not as reliable as the obvious solution.

All Victorian cars should have a mandatory Vic Roads approved dash cam. And I want this subsidised by the Victorian government.

The amount of money saved by being able to collect video footage of an accident and the events prior will more than cover the subsidy. Less police resources – more accurate account of the accident leading to less need for full investigation and accident reconstruction.

Registration should be discounted if vehicles are fitted with Vic Roads approved Dash cam. Or make it a roadworthy requirement with discounted registration.

I will never know what happened to my son. I will never know the details of the events that lead to the deaths of my 2 boys. I don’t want any other parent to feel this. The questions, the daily struggle, is so real. I don’t want any other civilian to have to relive a tragedy like that to help police piece together the events that led to the accident – even though in my son’s case – witness statements were so different it’s hard to know what to believe.

And there’s no CCTV. There was no dash cam available. That means no definitive answers.

Please help me – let’s make the Victorian government and VicRoads do their part. Victorian roads are some of the most dangerous in Australia. We can’t stop the road toll – but maybe we can learn from dash cam footage why these accidents are occurring. And we will certainly be able to give grieving family and friends answers.

Thank you so much for your support.