And on Saturday, an 18-year-old Traralgon man died in The Alfred from injuries sustained when the ute he was driving rolled down an embankment in Grand Ridge the previous night. Three other people were in the vehicle at the time and were rushed to La Trobe Regional Hospital, an Ambulance Victoria spokeswoman said. She said a woman had been in a serious but stable condition after sustaining facial and back injuries, while the other two male passengers were in a stable condition from leg and minor injuries. A La Trobe Hospital spokeswoman said the male passengers had since been discharged, while the 18-year-old woman has been transferred to The Alfred but remains in a stable condition. Teenagers were over-represented in this month's road toll: A total of seven people aged between 17 and 20 died on the state's roads in separate incidents.

But Monash University Accident Research Centre's Max Cameron warned against reading too much into the elevated number of teenager deaths in February, saying there were often month by month fluctuations that were down to chance. February has seen the deaths of 13 motorcyclists, 12 drivers, five pedestrians, one passenger and two cyclists. This figure means February was the worst month for motorcyclist deaths for almost 30 years. Professor Cameron said the spike in motorcyclist deaths in February was due to there being more bikes and cars sharing the state's roads.

"The more cars and the more motorcycles, the more crashes you are going to have," he said. "But motorcycle crashes are more likely to result in death or serious injury." He said there were more "born-again motorcyclists", who had often given up on riding after a few minor scapes when they were young but had rediscovered the activity in middle age. "Even motorcyclists accept it is a dangerous thing to do but it is their decision and the government supports that," he said. "But if I had my way I would ban motorcycling, I think it is an inherently dangerous activity and not all that necessary." Transport Accident Commission road safety manager Sam Cockfield said February's milder weather conditions meant more people went motorcycling and so were more exposed to road trauma risk. "In extreme weather people are discouraged from riding, but in temperate conditions everyone wants to enjoy the fresh air and go places they wouldn't normally go," she said.

Victoria Police Assistant Commissioner Doug Fryer – himself a motorcyclist - said last week that unlicensed riders and careless cars had contributed more to the spike in motorcyclist deaths than careless motorbike riding. "We're not driving recklessly - we're simply being hit by a car or making small mistakes," he said. So far this year, 54 people have died on Victoria's roads, 10 more than at the same time in 2015.