UPDATE: THE 12-day Christmas period has got off to a terrible start with five road fatalities.
That included three deaths in separate accidents in Victoria.
The deaths follow three in the Northern Territory and one in Queensland yesterday night before the start of the official 12-day road toll period.
Today, an elderly woman passenger died when the car she was in crashed into a light pole in Bentleigh East in Melbourne's southeast.
The crash came hours after a man died when his car veered off the road in nearby Moorabbin and smashed into a tree, flipping on its side.
The third fatality occurred at 4.15pm (AEDT) in Kerang in the state's far north when a sedan veered into truck on the Murray Valley Highway.
The driver of the sedan, a woman and sole occupant, died at the scene while the truck driver was taken to hospital.
Tasmania recorded its first fatality of the holiday season when a motorist died when his car when crashed on East Bagdad Road near Bagdad, north of Hobart, about 1.45pm (AEDT).
In South Australia, a 22-year-old woman died after her car crashed into a tree at Black Hill, near Mannum, east of Adelaide about 1.50am (CST).
On the Gold Coast, two people were airlifted to hospital in a critical condition after a bus rolled down an embankment on Mount Tamborine in the hinterland.
Police say 18 people, mostly Chinese tourists, were involved in the accident, which occurred about noon (AEST).
The deaths took the national holiday road toll to five.
Last night, before the start of the national Christmas road toll, three people died in the Northern Territory after their car rolled and landed on its top near Hermannsburg.
Police had called off a pursuit of a Commodore about 8.30pm (CST) yesterday after the driver refused to stop and then sped off.
The car was later found about 4km west of Hermannsburg having rolled onto its roof, police said today.
Two women, aged 26 and 32, died after being ejected from the car and a 30-year-old man also died at the scene, police said.
A 26-year-old man and a 35-year-old woman were also taken to hospital.
In far north Queensland, a man died after crashing an overloaded car.
Police say the vehicle was travelling along Pormpuraaw St, in Pormpuraaw on the Cape York Peninsula, about 11.30pm (AEST) on Saturday when it left the road and rolled.
Six people were in the car at the time of the crash, police say.
The driver, a 27-year-old Aurukun man, died at the scene.
