Hair, makeup, laptop open: Police plea amid deadly start to 2025 road toll

Police are looking to the past to prevent future road deaths with a new initiative analysing crash data to help officers predict and target danger zones as new images are released of people being caught on camera.

Queensland Police have released new images of people using their devices while driving.

Police are looking to the past to prevent future road deaths with a new initiative analysing crash data to help officers predict and target danger zones.

QPS Road Policing and Regional Support Command Acting Chief Superintendent Garrath Channells said it was “extremely concerning” 14 deaths had already been recorded this year — the deadliest start to the year since 2020.

It comes after the state recorded its worst road toll in more than 10 years with 302 lives lost in 2024.

Chief Supt Channells said Queensland was headed the wrong way and the concern for police was managing road trauma across the state.

“It’s my intention to use an evidence-based and intelligence led proactive focus to ensure that we are targeting the most concerning areas of the state,” he said.

QPS Road Policing and Regional Support Command Acting Chief Superintendent Garrath Channells. Pic Annette Dew

“To try and identify any trends around crash data and behaviour to then focus and target police enforcement engagement activity to try and mitigate and manage the road trauma.”

Chief Supt Channells said 95 per cent of serious crashes involve the fatal five – speeding, drink driving, failing to wear seatbelts and driving while tired or distracted.

“My biggest concern is the fact that our road users are not driving to conditions and in a manner that ensures their safety,” he said.

“We are seeing increased numbers of motorists being identified, both operationally from police operating on the road, and also through the camera detected defence program using mobile phones.

“That’s not the only form of distracted driving. We have drivers that do their hair and put on makeup and I’m aware of images of individuals actually using a laptop while they’re driving their car.”

Images given to The Courier-Mail show various versions of distracted drivers including some using large iPads.

Acting Chief Supt Channells said the data strategy enhanced the enforcement and engagement already in place.

Queensland Police have released new images of people using their devices while driving.

“I’m really concerned about last year’s road trauma. I am even more concerned about the start that we have had to this year,” he said.

“We are only three weeks into the month of January.

“The evidence that we’re seeing through road trauma is extremely concerning to me. So I have undertaken to investigate and try and work towards a new approach to supplement the strategies that we already have in place to try and reduce road trauma on the roads for Queenslanders.”

In the past year the main area of concern was across South East Queensland.

“Sadly last year, Brisbane was probably our most significant pain point with regards to serious crashes and fatalities, both north and south Brisbane,” he said.

“And we had some other regional areas that were concerning as well.”

In 2024 the road toll for the Wide Bay region had decreased, but Acting Chief Supt Channells said the trends statistically showed that area was once again an area for concern.

“As recently as yesterday I’ve made a commitment to provide some surge support back into the Wide Bay area to actually help them with a body of work around trying to remediate the road trauma that we’re seeing in Wide Bay again,” he said.