Fatigue, speed, wet weather make driving deadly in Burnett

Gayndah Police OIC Don Auld has observed the main crash culprits at this time of year are a combination of fatigue, speed and wet weather.

Gayndah Police OIC Don Auld deems wet weather, fatigue and speeding a recipe for disaster.

POLICE in the North Burnett are noticing too many simple traffic offences occurring in the region, including speeding, mobile phone use and fatigued driving.

Gayndah Police OIC Don Auld said these offences are nothing new but can easily be avoided, especially coming into the wet weather season.

Sgt Auld has identified fatigue as one of the most common factors affecting people’s driving.

“There still are quite a lot of people who are passing through Gayndah to go work out in the mines and other areas,” Sgt Auld said.

“They’re cracking up big kilometres and they’re tired so they put their foot down.”

Sgt Auld said workers want to finish work and get straight home so they can maximise their leisure time.

“People in Gayndah are finishing work late on a Friday and then they jump in a car and drive two or three hours to get to a destination,” he said.

Sgt Auld said the issue isn't just within Gayndah, but applies to the whole Wide Bay Burnett region.

“It’s not necessarily more people on the roads, just more people doing the wrong thing,” he said.

This combination of fatigue and high speed is deadly enough on its own, but when paired with wet roads, can become a recipe for disaster.

Sgt Auld said with the electrical storms and high winds at play, it’s not the time to be driving.

“Look at the weather that’s coming, if there’s going to be storms, try to plan not to be on the road at that time,” he said.

Sgt Auld said they notice this dangerous driving coming out particularly in the wet season every year.

“That’s when we start getting car crashes because everyone’s used to driving around in the dry and all of a sudden it's a wet road and they're not adjusting their driving behaviour,” he said.

“It’s always the way.”

Sgt Auld advises the best way to avoid these common mistakes is to be strict with yourself.

“You’re not just putting yourself at risk, you’re also putting others at risk,” he said.

“If you have crash, the effects could be fatal or could last for a long time.”

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