Gold Coast police ask drivers to be patient over busy school holiday period

Police are looking for motorists to do one simple thing during the Christmas holiday period with an influx of tourists expected to add to congestion on Gold Coast roads.

Police are appealing to motorists to show patience on Gold Coast roads during what is expected to be a very busy summer holiday season.

With Saturday the first day of school holidays, thousands of tourists are expected to make their way to the city by road, adding to already heavy traffic volumes on key routes.

Acting Superintendent Ryan Clark said police did not want to be knocking on doors of family members to deliver bad news over the holidays and appealed to drivers to plan ahead and be patient.

“It’s always a challenging period because we have an influx of population,” he said.

“We are in a supreme tourist destination and it’s incumbent on us as police to not only make sure we provide a safe environment for our community that live here year round but those that visit.

“I’d ask if you could just plan ahead, acknowledging there’s going to be additional traffic loads on the roadways.

“Be prepared, plan ahead, take your time. Our priority is getting you to your destination safely.

“And if you are planning on drinking, don’t drive.”

Heavy traffic volumes are expected on the Gold Coast during the school holidays. Picture: Nigel Hallett.

Acting Supt Clark in particular appealed to motorcyclists to take greater care, saying police were “frustrated” by some of the behaviour seen on roads.

“We are all members of the community and we all drive the M1,” he said.

“We all see some of these people doing high-risk manoeuvres on the M1 and you just think, my goodness, it just takes one car to not see them coming and a tragedy can happen.”

Acting Superintendent Ryan Clark. Picture: Glenn Hampson.

Acting Supt Clark said drivers could expect to see police out in force over the holiday period, saying they could be “anywhere at any time”.

He said informing family members about the death of a loved one in a road accident was a particularly challenging job for police, and appealed for community help in ensuring it was one they did not have to do across the Christmas holiday period.

“That (informing family) is a really difficult undertaking for someone at any time of the year but throughout the holiday period it’s particularly challenging,” Acting Supt Clark said.

“As police we’re all humans, we all have families, and we relate to people that have to go through that kind of tragic circumstance.

“If we could just get the message out to our community to just be patient and take their time on the roadways. We’d love not to have to do that.”

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Originally published as Gold Coast police ask drivers to be patient over busy school holiday period