Queensland launches confronting new road safety campaign in response to horror road toll

First responders have described the screams and the smell of blood in the air at Queensland crash scenes in a new series of haunting videos.

First responders have described the screams and the smell of blood in the air at Queensland crash scenes in a new series of haunting videos as they plead for people to buckle up and make better choices.

Queensland police on Monday launched the video campaign which features the confronting experiences of real firefighters, paramedics, police and doctors.

Among the list of choices the first responders urged Queenslanders to make was to buckle up.

A recent survey from RACQ found one in 10 Queenslanders had driven without a seatbelt in the past 12 months. That figure doubled for young people aged between 18 and 24.

Firefighter Luke Kennedy appears in the video campaign which depicts what can happen when drivers are complacent.

Sergeant Stacey Bach from the Brisbane Forensic Crash Unit appears in the road safety campaign.

“I reckon 90 per cent of what you’re walking into, you can deal with straight away and I’ve seen it before but when you first go there it’s quite confronting- just lots of screaming, you can smell the blood in the air,” firefighter Luke Kennedy said in the video.

He appears in the first of the five videos arriving at a simulation of a scenario alongside Sergeant Stacey Bach from the Brisbane Forensic Crash Unit.

Sgt Bach on Monday said the videos were an accurate representation of what Queensland first responders witnessed almost every day.

She said while cars were becoming safer, driver behaviour needed to change in order to reduce the death toll which was on track to be the worst in more than a decade.

Advanced Care Paramedic Shane Henderson appears in the new road safety campaign videos.

“What we’re trying to get out there is please when you’re driving don’t make silly decisions, don’t look at your mobile phones, drive to the conditions … wear your seatbelts, don’t be distracted while you’re driving and don’t drink and drive,” Sgt Bach said.

“Most of our crashes can be prevented by these small things.

“So if you just make that change in your own behaviour then you won’t have these dire consequences that police and QAS and QFES are going to on a daily basis.”

So far 174 people have died on Queensland roads in 2021 and seatbelt compliance was an ongoing issue.

Transport Minister Mark Bailey said he was saddened by the number of lives lost this year.

He said the state government was rolling out more cameras to catch drivers using mobile phones and not wearing seatbelts.

“Quite frankly the issue of drivers not wearing seatbelts in regional areas is shocking,” he said.

“In Queensland last year almost 40 per cent of lives lost and people seriously injured in road crashes where they weren't wearing a seatbelt occurred outside significant urban areas.

“Given only 15 per cent of Queensland’s population live outside significant urban areas, this is a large over-representation.”

Assistant Commissioner Ben Marcus said the video campaign was aimed at convincing drivers to think about the consequences.

He said he personally found it difficult to watch confronting advertisements but research showed it worked on some viewers.

“You will see the things that we see,” he said.

“We do have to cut through glass, we do have to put sheets over deceased people- that’s what’s different this year.

“I don't like it but we’re running out of different ways to tell people to stop taking stupid risks on the road.”

Queensland Road Safety Week runs from August 16 to 20.

Originally published as Queensland launches confronting new road safety campaign in response to horror road toll