His plea comes after three tragic fatalities on our roads in the space of nine days this month.

On February 3, a man in his 40s died when his motorbike collided with two four-wheel-drives near Cressfield Road, Parkville.

Soon after, on February 6, a 36-year-old woman was killed on the Denman Road after crashing into a truck.

Most recently, on February 11, an accident north of Aberdeen claimed the life of another male.

That’s three too many, according to Commander Clarke.

“People need to be mindful of being tired [fatigue] and speeding,” he said.

“Those are big issues in this district – they’re both controllable variables, too.

“The day something happens that involves a loved one is when it really drives home just how significant those things are. 

“We don’t want to leave those sorts of memories.”

Commander Clarke admitted the countless police campaigns and operations seemed to have had little impact on drivers – young and old.

“I honestly don’t think it’s sinking in,” he said.

“There are plenty of cops out there, however incidents are still happening.

“We get frustrated that people aren’t listening.

“And, it certainly appears as though the roads were not a contributing factor [in the February fatalities].

“But, we’re also extremely concerned drivers’ concentration is being side-tracked by mobile phones.

“You only have to read about what happened to that officer [Jonathan Wright] who was setting up an RBT in Sydney’s southwest at the weekend. 

“That could have easily been avoided if someone followed the road rules.”

Commander Clarke said the newly-formed command would “press ahead” with its local strategies.

“I can’t implore people enough – if you’re speeding in a 100km zone, slow down, even if you know the road well,” he explained.

“It’s not worth it to get to your location five minutes earlier.

“The bottom line is: we simply don’t want to see more people die on our roads.”