Easter is one of the deadliest weekends for road fatalities

Drivers in Western Australia, NSW and the ACT will be subject to double demerits over the Easter weekend from Thursday, April 6 until Monday April 10.

Any driver caught speeding, using a mobile phone illegally, not wearing a seatbelt or riding without a helmet will lose double the amount of demerits than normal.

Mobile phone detection cameras will also be in operation during the double demerit period in the ACT and NSW, with a $352 fine and 10 demerits for offenders.

In Victoria, Operation Nexus, launching at midnight on April 6, will see police ramp up enforcement across the state in an effort to reduce road trauma. There will be a particular focus on major arterial loads leading to regional Victoria and popular regional holiday spots.

Operation Victor Easter will be conducted across Queensland from April 1 to April 16 with increased police presence on highways and major roads during the school holiday period.

It comes as Australia has suffered more road deaths than usual in the first months of 2023.

So far this year there have been 87 lives lost in Victoria, up 33 per cent on last year. The three fatal collisions this month were in Beaconsfield, Chirnside Park and South Geelong.

Bureau of Infrastructure and Transport Research Economics figures show that 1,193 people died on the nation's roads in 2022, an increase of more than five per cent on the previous year.

Analysis by the Australian Automobile Association shows Australians living in regional areas are almost five times more likely to die in road crashes than those living in cities.

Australian Road Safety Foundation CEO Russell White told ACM that a combination of risk factors made regional roads a dangerous place to drive.

"Regional roads are at risk all the time simply because you've got things like high travelling speed and issues like fatigue, and if something was to happen, help can be a long way away," he said.

"You've also got the influx of people who are coming from urban areas that aren't match fit for rural driving. So it's a bit of a melting pot for road trauma in those areas, we've got to remember that while less than a third of Australia's population lives in those rural areas, it accounts for two thirds of the road trauma in this country."

According to the Australian Road Safety Foundation, almost two in three road deaths occur on regional roads and the rate of serious road-related injury in rural areas is nearly twice that of those in major cities.

In Victoria, deaths on rural roads made up 60 per cent of this year's overall fatalities, according to Victoria Police.

In Victoria, police issued more than 8000 infringements over a five-day Easter operation last year and will again be on the lookout for speeding as well as distracted and impaired drivers.

Assistant Commissioner road policing Glenn Weir urged caution on roads over the holiday weekend.

"Easter is a high-risk period on our roads - it's a major holiday weekend that attracts significant travel across the state," he said.

"There have been 11 lives lost on Victorian roads over the last five Easter periods - that's 11 lives tragically cut short, instead of enjoying Easter with their families, friends and loved ones."

In Queensland, one life was lost over Easter weekend 2022 with 60 injury crashes recorded in Queensland and 3,788 traffic infringements issued.

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Mr White said that anyone planning to drive in regional areas over the Easter weekend should make sure their vehicle has recently been serviced, that the driver is well rested, and to ensure you're leaving sensible gaps between yourself and other vehicles.

"Stay focused, which just means to put the mobile phone away, and make sure that your focus is 100 per cent on driving," he said.

"And just look as far ahead as you can, if you only remember one thing, just lift your eyes up and be looking a little bit further down the road all the time."