Car theft Qld: Innocent person injured every three days
Damning figures obtained by The Courier-Mail show the pain still being inflicted on the state by stolen car crime. BY THE NUMBERS
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Car thieves are injuring an average of one Queenslander every three days in crashes, sparking calls from stakeholders for more to be done to stop stolen car tragedies.
Damning Queensland Police Service numbers obtained by The Courier-Mail show the pain inflicted on the state by stolen car crime, with more than 1600 people caught up in stolen car traffic crashes since 2020.
Since then, nine people have been killed in stolen car crashes.
The data shows a breakdown of the injuries caused to those involved in stolen car crashes, which included 120 injured people last year.
Between January 2020 and April this year, 481 people have been injured in stolen car crashes, including 273 drivers, 164 passengers, 14 pedestrians and 30 riders.
Since 2020, the number of traffic crashes involving stolen cars has increased by 37 per cent, and the number of people injured in these crashes has gone up by 76 per cent.
The data also includes those in a stolen car when a crash occurred.
Shine Lawyers Logan associate Rob Chata said compensation claims for injuries suffered in these crashes had gone through the roof over the last few years.
“We are seeing an increase in the number of people seeking help after being hit by stolen vehicles,” Mr Chata said.
“These are terrifying incidents which leave victims with what can be life long physical and psychological scars.
“I often see victims who struggle to get back behind the wheel because of the erratic and violent nature of their crash. They effectively lose all trust in other drivers on the road.”
Up to May this year, more than 8000 charges of unlawful use of a motor vehicle have been laid in Queensland.
RACQ head of public policy Michael Kane called for more technology to be used to stop stolen cars.
“Every road death or serious injury is a tragedy, and when it involves a stolen car it’s even more preventable as these drivers shouldn’t be on the road at all,” Dr Kane said.
“We also need to harness technology to stop stolen cars.
“The state government added a third Polair (police helicopter) unit to their South East Queensland fleet last year, but more action is needed across the entire state; opportunities to use drones to detect extreme driving should also be explored.
“Modern vehicles can already detect whether they are speeding and being driven erratically; RACQ is looking to work with universities and government to take this further by developing technology that enables a car to detect if it’s stolen, slow itself down, and switch to a safe mode to take the joy out of the joy ride.”
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Originally published as Car theft Qld: Innocent person injured every three days
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