Police urge community to drive carefully amid Easter traffic chaos

While Brisbane’s Easter holiday-makers look forward to the lockdown being lifted, it comes with a warning from authorities.

Police have urged the community to keep calm and drive to the conditions as holiday-makers are set to take to the road en masse for the Easter weekend.

And police statistics reveal traffic-related deaths are up 38 per cent on the same time last year.

Seventy-four lives have been lost on Queensland roads since January 1, compared with last year’s figure of 48 in the same period.

Police and road authorities have previously said the inability to travel overseas for holidays had led to an increase in serious and fatal crashes, as more Queenslanders were forced to holiday at home.

Ahead of today’s lockdown announcement – which may see a mass exodus if Brisbane residents are allowed to flee to the coast for Easter – Deputy Police Commissioner Steve Gollschewski urged motorists to adhere to the road rules and drive to the conditions.

“I want to remind everyone that irrespective of the decision (today), we are moving into Easter and we can expect right across the state there will be significant traffic movement, and regrettably and tragically our road toll is currently 26 over what it was this time last year,” he said.

“So please everyone if you’re travelling over Easter, irrespective of what the conditions are, drive to them.”