Gold Coast fatal crash: RACQ says tweak to traffic lights could have prevented death at Surfers Paradise intersection

The tragic death of a 93-year-old Surfers Paradise woman at the state’s most dangerous intersection, right here on the Gold Coast, could’ve been prevented – here’s how.

THE tragic death of a 93-year-old Surfers Paradise woman at Queensland’s most dangerous intersection could have been prevented by a simple traffic light tweak.

The woman was a passenger in a Honda City sedan travelling south along Remembrance Drive in Surfers Paradise on Monday night. A woman driving a Toyota Corolla hatchback in the opposite direction tried to turn at the Clifford St intersection and collided with the Honda.

The intersection of Remembrance Dr and Clifford St at Surfers Paradise, the scene of the fatal crash on Monday night.

The 93-year-old died at the scene. A 71-year-old woman driving the Honda was also injured.

The intersection of Remembrance Dr and Clifford St has been considered the most dangerous in the state by the RACQ since at least early 2019.

In February, the motoring body called on the Gold Coast City Council to fix the intersection after nine crashes left 20 people seriously injured between July 2016 and June 2019.

RACQ spokeswoman Lauren Ritchie said the most common cause of crashes at the intersection was when drivers turning into Clifford St on a green light did not give way to oncoming vehicles.

She previously said: “A solution for this intersection is to only permit right turns on a green arrow.”

Ms Ritchie told the Bulletin this week it was disappointing the tweak had not been made.

“It’s one of those really good examples of when simple change, like installing a green turning arrow at that signal, could make a huge increase in safety,” she said.

The intersection named the most dangerous in Queensland.

“It’s very disappointing for all the people who’ve been seriously injured or unfortunately died at this intersection.

“Obviously, if you’ve got measures like turning on the green light, people have to time the traffic and time their entry into the intersection.”

Ms Ritchie said RACQ would be lobbying candidates running in the council poll to undertake the “vital piece of work” if elected.

She said the crash was a sad reminder for drivers to stay alert and exercise caution.

The Queensland Police Forensic Crash Unit is investigating and an outcome could take months.

A police spokesman would not be drawn on the likelihood of any charges being laid.

The council said it was working with police and the Department of Transport and Main Roads “to establish the contributing factors that led to the fatal road incident”.

“The city urges all motorists to drive to the conditions,” a spokeswoman said.

Witnesses or anyone with dashcam footage should phone Policelink on 131 444.