Nearly half of Queensland road deaths in 2020 not wearing seatbelts

One of Queensland’s top cops says drivers need to consider how they conduct themselves after the state recorded its worst road toll in a decade.

One of Queensland’s top cops has called on drivers to “take a little step back and think about how they conduct themselves” as the state records its worst road toll in nearly a decade.

A shocking 276 people were killed on Queensland roads in 2020, 57 more than the year before. Of those, 40 per cent were not wearing a seatbelt.

“I won’t try and sugar-coat things – it’s a disappointing result,” Acting Assistant Commissioner Ray Rohweder said.

“We are going to do everything we can during 2021 to reverse that result. As much as we can.

“What we do need is the people of Queensland, the people who are using our road networks, to take a little step back and think about how they conduct themselves.”

The horror road toll comes after Queensland recorded a historically low road toll in 2019.

In 2020, Queensland was the only state to see an increase in road deaths in a year where the coronavirus pandemic saw a dramatic decrease in people using the roads.

This year will see the implementation of cameras that detect people using a mobile phone or not wearing a seatbelt.

Acting Assistant Commissioner Ray Rohweder.

Fines for using a mobile phone while driving were recently increased to $1000, while the fine for not wearing a seatbelt is $400.

Mr Rohweder said the statistics around people failing to wear a seatbelt were “disturbing”.

“We have approximately 40 per cent of our fatalities are people not wearing a seatbelt,” he said.

“I just don’t understand how that can be the case.

“We see instances, for example, parents in cars where the parents are wearing a seatbelt and the children are unrestrained.

“It’s an incredible situation.”

Mr Rohweder said he believed the new mobile phone and seatbelt detection cameras should have a “significant impact” on road safety.

It is understood the mobile cameras will be moved to regional areas where the biggest increase in road deaths have occurred.

Drivers will initially receive warnings if caught by the cameras, with fines beginning to be issued in the second half of the year.

The Queensland Government is using new camera technology to help detect the illegal mobile phone use and those failing to wear a seatbelt. One of the cameras has been spotted on the Kennedy Highway near Kuranda.

“An increase in fines is probably something the government may look at,” Mr Rohweder said.

RACQ spokeswoman Lauren Ritchie said it was “mind boggling” the number of people not wearing seatbelts, considering they have been mandatory since the 1970s.

“It’s so incredibly easy and quick to do and not wearing one has such a profound impact when you’re involved in a crash,” she said.

“It’s muscle memory. It makes you wonder whether people are actively not putting them on.”

Ms Ritchie said they were aware of cases where drivers go to great lengths to disable the alarm that sounds when a seatbelt isn’t on.

“We talk about statistics, but these are not numbers – these are lives,” she said.

“To know that so many of these lives could have been saved is very tragic.”