Toowoomba police issue dire warning to Darling Downs drivers

Concerning Queensland fatality figures could see the yearly road death toll reach 300 before the end of the year. Local police are urging Darling Downs drivers to take more care on the roads this Easter. Here’s everything you need to know.

DON’T BECOME A STATISTIC: Darling Downs police are urging drivers to be safe this weekend as state road tolls reach worrying highs. Emergency services on the scene of the Toowoomba Bypass crash in November 2020. Picture: File

Darling Downs police are strongly urging motorists to take it easy on the roads these Easter holidays in the hopes of preventing the state’s road toll from climbing any higher.

Darling Downs District Crime Prevention Officer Sergeant Tony Rehn said road fatalities across the state were about 20 per cent higher than this time last year.

“We are concerned after the lockdown in Brisbane that has just ended that people will head out of town willy nilly and not be paying attention to what they are doing,” he said.

“The Queensland Police Service’s Easter road safety enforcement operation is running from April 1 to April 18, and our local operation will be running all weekend across the region with a specific focus on our highways and main roads through town for travellers.”

Sgt Rehn said fatalities involving motorcycles were up about 200 per cent and this year Queensland was on track to have one of the worst years on our roads in terms of lives lost with numbers forecast to reach 300 statewide by the end of 2021.

“We’ve already had 69 deaths on Queensland roads this year in comparison to 46 this time last year, we really don’t want to see these figures continue into Easter.

“The aim of the campaign is to reduce serious and fatal crashes on our roads during a time when we know that Queenslanders will be out and about,” he said.

“When you are travelling over the Easter and school holiday period, remember that every decision you make on the road counts.

“Expect to see police anywhere, anytime when you’re on the roads over the Easter and school holiday period.

“Road safety is everyone’s responsibility but that starts with you.”

Sgt Rehn said there were several key focus areas Queensland Police were hoping to alert motorists to these school holidays:

Fatigue

• Driver fatigue is one of the leading one of the leading factors contributing to road crashes and can have a direct consequence on your life, and those around you

• Driving tired affects you in a way that driving while intoxicated can

• If you’re heading off on a long trip over Easter or the school holidays, take responsibility for your actions

• When possible, arrange to share the driving

• Rest every two hours for at least 15 minutes

• Don’t ignore signs of fatigue

Drink and drug driving

• Expect to see police on the roads conducting high visibility random alcohol and drug testing and enforcement

• Almost 10 per cent of road fatalities nationwide involve a driver or rider who had an illegal drug in their system

• Drink driving is a contributing factor in over 18 per cent of fatalities on Queensland roads.

• If you have drugs in your system, you are 10 times more likely to be responsible for causing a crash

Seatbelts

• Seatbelts save lives and vehicles are constructed to protect the occupants in a crash situation

• The seatbelt restrains you in your seat so that the vehicle structure can protect you in a crash

• Check that child seats are fitted correctly and that harnesses are correctly adjusted

• An incorrectly fitted seatbelt is as bad as not wearing a seatbelt at all

• Unrestrained pets become a projectile in an emergency braking situation

Distraction

• Using a mobile phone while driving distracts you in a way that excludes all else

• The road is a constantly changing environment and in the time that your attention is diverted from the driving task the conditions outside the vehicle will have changed and you don’t have the capacity to make accurate assessment if you are required to make any driving decisions or take evasive action

• Distractions can be outside the vehicle as well – remember to be aware of the environment outside the vehicle, but after making an assessment of a situation, remember to return your attention to the road

Speed

• If you double your speed you will have to quadruple your stopping distance in an emergency

• Speeding at night on rural roads can mean that you are driving ‘outside’ the extents of your headlights. This means that by the time an approaching hazard is visible within your headlights, you don’t have time to react.