By CASEY NEILL
THE dream of a zero road toll continues to drive Leading Senior Constable Glen Ziino after 20 years of patrolling Victorian roads.
“I didn’t used to think that it was achievable, but when you ask people what’s an acceptable road toll for their family, they say ‘zero’,” he said.
“So what’s an acceptable goal for society or what should we aim for? The answer has to be zero.
“I think we can get close.”
The Berwick 44-year-old joined the police force in 1991.
“A long time ago I dropped out of university and just fell into the police force,” he said.
“I just applied not really knowing what I was getting myself in for.
“The next thing they phone you up and say ‘you’re starting at the academy on the 19th of November’ and you go ‘oh, OK’.”
Lead Sen Const Ziino said he quickly knew the highway patrol was his goal.
“I always had an interest in motorcycles so once I was there and hopped on a bike… I’ve never looked back,” he said.
This year he notches up his 10th year with Casey Highway Patrol, which he joined after a decade at the Brunswick unit.
“I’ve been to a lot of serious collisions over the years. You do remember the fatalities,” he said.
“I’ve been to a few motorcycle fatalities that are probably a little bit hard because you roll up on a police motorcycle and you’ve got a vulnerable road user, being a motorcyclist, who’s lying on the ground.
“It’s a little bit hard to deal with, but I suppose you just put the hat on.
“You do what you need to do from a police point of view.”
Lead Sen Const Ziino said most collisions were preventable.
“That’s probably what drives most highway patrol members,” he said.
“Ultimately what we’re there to do is to reduce the number and severity of collisions.
“We do it through enforcement and education, so if we’re not investigating collisions we’re out there picking people up for speeding, using the phone, not wearing seatbelts, driving around unlicensed…
“People don’t often stop and think that it’s those little things that can have big ramifications when things do go wrong.”
He said the vast majority of people tried to do the right thing.
“When they get picked up for a relatively minor offence it costs them money out of their hip pocket and it’s a reminder,” he said.
“And, hopefully, it sticks with them and it brings them into line to do the right thing.
“I love riding motor bikes and I honestly believe in what I’m doing.”
