Police say ‘wake up and grow up’ as 2023 road deaths overpass 2022 total

The residents of one state have been issued a stern warning after the number of deaths on the road rose above the toll for the entire previous year.

South Australian police are calling on motorists to “wake up and grow up” as the road death toll for 2023 surpasses the 2022 with five months left in the year.

72 deaths have been recorded on South Australian roads up to today, compared to 43 in the same period in 2022.

504 people have suffered serious injuries compared to 411 for the same period in 2022.

On August 3, a 69-year-old Ingle Farm man died at Northfield after his silver Ford Focus travelling north left the road and crashed into a pole, marking the 72nd fatality.

South Australia Police Traffic Services Branch Superintendent Darren Fielke said the dramatic figures should serve as a “serious reality check” for the community.

Superintendent Fielke said it was difficult to pinpoint why 2023 had proved so deadly. Picture: Duncan Evans / NCA NewsWire

“The ripple effect of road trauma, whether it be life lost or a serious injury, should not be lost on anyone,” he said.

“Wake up and grow up.”

Superintendent Fielke said it was difficult to pinpoint why 2023 was proving so deadly.

“It’s selfishness, it’s immaturity, it’s complacency,” he said.

“It’s a whole combination of things.”

He said the police would target drug and drink drivers in a special operation from 4pm today, with drivers under the influence accounting for some 26 per cent of road trauma.

“They cause no end of carnage and disappointment and just general sadness on our roads,” he said.

As of July 31, 2023, the police have detected 2364 drivers under the influence of alcohol and 2753 under the influence of drugs.

Originally published as Police say ‘wake up and grow up’ as 2023 road deaths overpass 2022 total