‘Sobering’ milestone for Queensland after fatal Christmas Day crash
Queensland has reached a “sobering” road toll milestone after a fatal Christmas Day crash in the south-east.
An 83-year-old man died at the Princess Alexandra Hospital on Thursday night following the collision in Logan about 4pm, December 25.
His death took the state’s annual road toll to 299 – higher than any year since 2009.
Queensland has reached its worst road toll since 2009. Credit: QPS
Brisbane Times understands at least 6000 people have also been injured in crashes this year.
“These are statistics that are sobering,” Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie told reporters on Friday.
“They’re statistics that nobody could be comfortable with.”
The worst year in the last decade had been 2022, with 296 deaths.
Police Minister Dan Purdie urged all drivers to do more to protect themselves and their family.
“I find this number totally unacceptable,” he said, imploring Queenslanders to “drive to survive”.
“Please don’t be the 300th person lost on our roads this holiday season.”
More than 100 additional covert and marked police motorbikes will be deployed until January 27, 2025.
Government data released earlier this month showed the number of fatalities was 11 per cent higher than the four-year average, with a significant increase in road deaths in the Brisbane police region during 2024.
Across the state, the number of drivers killed so far in 2024 was slightly below average, but passenger fatalities were up 9 per cent, while there was also a notable increase in deaths involving motorcycles, bicycles and personal mobility devices.
At the time, the rate of fatalities in Queensland per 100,000 population was higher (5.45) than the national average (4.87), but lower than Western Australia (6.11) and the Northern Territory (23.94).
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