RACQ demands road toll priority

QUEENSLAND'S leading motoring group wants politicians to start thinking of road death prevention as “sexy” policy on the election trail.

SIGN LANGUAGE: An RACQ billboard on road safety appears on the Bruce Highway demanding action from the major political parties on urgent road funding. Picture: DARREN CARTWRIGHTAAP

QUEENSLAND'S leading motoring group wants politicians to start thinking of road death prevention as "sexy" policy on the election trail.

RACQ spokesman Paul Turner said the group was making a public push to get a bigger slice of government funding spent on road safety as it was continually overlooked during electioneering campaigns.

As of midnight on Tuesday, 43 people had died on Queensland roads in 2012, 10 more than at the same time last year.

The RACQ has paid for 11 billboards across the state to highlight the issue, including one sign on the Bruce Highway at the Sunshine Coast that reads: "One in six deaths on Australian national highways occur on this one".

"Election wars become bidding wars for causes and road funding just hasn't been sexy enough for them to make it an issue this campaign," Mr Turner said.

"We have to make sure road funding is part of their campaign as there is a desire by the major parties to duck any real commitment on this issue."

Mr Turner said Queensland was now the most expensive state in the country to run a car.

Yet there were major problems on roads because of insufficient funding, he said.

The RACQ also had a top-10 list of projects it wants the next state government to focus on.

The projects include a Bruce Highway bypass at Gympie, construction of a second Warrego Highway Toowoomba Range crossing, making the Bruce Highway flood-proof at Cairns, Gympie and Rockhampton, and additional lanes to the Pacific Motorway at Nerang and the Gateway Motorway at Nudgee.

"There's 1700km of the Bruce Highway and it's a two-lane dirt track at Maryborough," Mr Turner said.

"No one expects to have 1700km of flood-proofed, four-lane Bruce Highway, but what we are trying to do is nut out the really important projects and have them funded for the next 10 to 20 years."

Mr Turner said the state government also should provide financial relief for motorists by freezing vehicle registration charges and removing stamp duty for low-emission vehicles.

-AAP

Originally published as RACQ demands road toll priority