Queensland’s road toll on course to be worst in more than a decade

Almost a person a day has died on Queensland roads in 2022, triggering criticism from a former detective and current MP who claims road safety is no longer a “top priority” for police.

Queensland’s road toll is on track to be the worst in more than a decade with 135 lives lost in just 159 days in 2022.

Should the alarming trend continue, it would be the highest total of fatalities since 2009, where a horror 331 deaths were recorded.

It comes after the Sunshine State had Australia’s highest toll last year with 274.

Among the tragedies crashes included a three-year-old boy who died after a head-on crash on the Sunshine Motorway at Coolum on May 30, while a 17-year-old boy died following a car crash at Bli Bli last week.

A Queensland Police Service spokeswoman said the toll was a concerning number and was a tragedy for too many friends and families.

The death toll triggered criticism from a former detective who accused the state government of no longer making road safety a “top priority” for police.

Police officer turned Liberal National MP Dan Purdie said there was a direct link in the rising road fatalities from a lack of police resources and a lack of officers tasked to proactively policing road rules.

Sunshine Coast MP Dan Purdie questioned why the road toll was so high when vehicles were so technologically advanced. Picture: Evan Morgan

Mr Purdie said police resources were stretched dealing with a youth crime crisis while officers were spending hours at hospitals manning ramping issues.

He questioned why the road toll was so high when vehicles were so technologically advanced.

“Legitimately, history has shown, when police have the resources and are tasked to proactively police road rules, it can drive it down,” Mr Purdie said.

“But when you have traffic branches reassigned and road drug testing units reassigned, it shows there’s no longer a centralised focus.

“When roads haven’t been policed properly innocent people are losing their lives.”

Emergency services at the scene of a fatal crash involving a truck and a car on the Warrego Hwy near Bowenville in February this year. Picture: Kevin Farmer

Police Minister Mark Ryan said the service was more committed than ever to enhancing road safety and that it was an insult to hard working officers.

Mr Ryan said police had conducted several targeted road safety operations including the most recent Operation Anticline from July 1, 2021 to March 31, 2022.

He said throughout the operation, there were 180,000 random breath tests performed, 2000 random drug tests performed that resulted in 11,000 infringement notices issued and more than 2000 arrests or notices to appear issued.

Mr Ryan said more than 20,000 police officer hours helped deliver the operation.

“One death on our roads is one too many,” Mr Ryan said.

“The message is clear, you can expect police anywhere, anytime.”

A Queensland Police Service spokeswoman said officers used several tactics, both overt and covert, to apprehend people committing offences on the state’s roads.

“We undertake a number of steps to try and eliminate road trauma and fatalities. In recent times this has included enabling more officers to be trained in the use of speed detection devices and roadside drug testing equipment which has increased our capacity to detect the small group of people who are doing the wrong thing,” the spokeswoman said.

“Every decision you make on the road, counts. Road safety is everyone’s responsibility, but it starts with you. Our message is clear, every decision a driver makes on the road has consequences. Sadly, sometimes those consequences are fatal.”

Lleyton Bartlett, 22, was one of two young mechanics who died after a horror crash on the Sunshine Coast in April this year.

Of the 135 deaths, which are up from 116 at the same stage last year, the spokeswoman said 11 lives were lost from road-related flood deaths like driving into flood waters or vehicles being swept away in flood waters.

Mr Purdie said under former police commissioner Bob Atkinson keeping the state’s road toll at a minimum was of utmost importance.

“I do remember under Bob Atkinson, we were all under pressure to keep it down, it was a real legacy of his,” he said.

“It was one of his biggest focuses and the resources were adequately allocated.

“This year we are on track to be one of the worst years of all time, which is a record we don’t want to break.”