Flood fools and bloody idiots

It never ceases to amaze me the things bloody idiots do on our roads.

It never ceases to amaze me the things that bloody idiots will do on our roads.

On Saturday, I spent an hour or so walking through the floodwaters of Noosa, talking to local residents and business people who were less than impressed with the fools in four-wheel-drives touring through their streets, despite pleas for them to stay out.

I mean, you don’t have to be that bright to work out what "road closed" means on a sign, but it seems that some four-wheel-drive owners aren’t that intelligent.

And certainly the Boreen Point man who had to be rescued after driving into a flooded road at Doonan, while allegedly over the blood-alcohol limit, is well deserving of the "bloody idiot" award of the week.

The 29-year-old’s ute was almost totally submereged when he drove into Eumundi-Noosa Road from Beddington Road.

He then called 000 for help, meaning police had to be diverted from their flood efforts elsewhere to help this clown.

The man was breath-tested and allegedly recorded a concentration more than three times the legal limit.

It wasn’t a great weekend for drink-driving offences.

A 29-year-old pregnant woman was allegedly caught driving with five times the legal blood-alcohol concentration (.252%) early Sunday morning at Dicky Beach.

The incident prompted Inspector Tony Lewis to plead with people to intervene when they see an intoxicated person get behind the wheel.

“Somebody must see these drivers drinking and then get into cars and drive off – yet they do nothing!” he said. “If they kill themselves or someone else, how would you feel then?”

It makes you wonder why Queensland still has such a culture that seems to condone drinking and driving.

After we ran a story on sports personality Benny Pike getting busted for drink-driving – only for the sixth time – we copped criticism that we had picked on poor Benny, and ignored the good work he had done in the community.

Well, after visiting the morgue to positively identify my sister-in-law after she was killed in an accident at Buderim by a drink-driver ("only" on his second offence), I must declare my sympathy for "poor" Benny is zero.

Anyone who has been caught drink-driving so many times should not be allowed to drive, full-stop.

And why he did not serve some jail time, along with many other drink-drivers who are repeat offenders, is beyond me.

Are our magistrates and judges really concerned about stopping the slaughter of innocent people on our roads? Or are they just interested in listening to the bleeding-heart stories of lawyers who get paid to deliver to the court excuses as to why it was not their client’s responsibility.

Taxi shortages, "I didn’t realise I was over the limit", "I was only driving a short distance, your Honour".

Spare us the bull; we’ve heard it all before.

Even our politicians, who should know better, are being spared any real consequences of their actions.

Beattie Government MP Karen Struthers was arrested for drink-driving at more than three times the legal limit. She was in agovernment car when she was picked up late on Friday night and gave a blood-alcohol reading of 0.169%.

This is the same woman who made four speeches to Parliament on the dangers of drink-driving.

Ms Struthers said she had been with family members on Friday night and had not eaten. She said she drove a friend to a taxi rank after failing to get through on the phone.

More excuses.

So what has the Premier done about it. Very little. She remains an MP and on her $140,000 pay package after being "counselled" by the Deputy Premier.

Forget "counselling", Anna, practice what you preach in your road campaign advertisements and give the bloody idiot the flick.

Sober drivers on our roads deserve no less.

Sterling effort by emergency workers

Now for some well-earned praise: our State Emergency Service volunteers, lifesavers, police, firefighters and council workers deserve huge community recognition for their efforts over the past weekend.

Some of our SES volunteers – and yes, they don’t get paid – put in 36 hours straight to keep water out of many homes on the Sunshine Coast, particularly in the Noosa area.

A staggering 2000 sandbags were filled to protect the Noosa River foreshore areas from flooding, ensuring that damage was kept to an absolute minimum.

Noosa Council, for its part, was very well organised and the lessons it learnt from the 1992 floods were very evident.

Local ABC radio Coast FM personnel also put in big shifts to keep us informed, as did my online crew at www.thedaily.com.au

If you haven’t done so already, check out our flood photos, including many sent in by readers who also played their own part in ensuring our comprehensive coverage.

Don’t miss the 12-page flood souvenir special in tomorrow’s Daily.

Originally published as Flood fools and bloody idiots