Fatal crashes spike ahead of National Road Safety Week

Depressing statistics show a key group of road users are over represented in the road death toll, leading police to call on all motorists to be more courteous and give their full attention to the traffic around them.

Darling Downs District Chief Inspector Danny Shaw is calling on all motorists be more courteous and give their full attention to the road.

Police will take a hard line approach with motorists caught speeding or driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol after a spike in fatal crashes across Queensland.

The warning comes as new figures show 2024 is on track to be one of the deadliest on record with 185 lives lost, up 15 from the same time last year.

Of those lives lost, 34 were in the Queensland Police Service Southern Region, which takes in Ipswich, the Darling Downs and South West.

Darling Downs Chief Inspector Danny Shaw said they were all heartbreaking incidents.

“That is 184 people who are not going home to their families and (it has) had a devastating impact on families and friends,” he said.

“We want drivers to be courteous on the road and to pay attention.

“Driving a motor vehicle is most likely the most dangerous thing any person would do on any given day.”

Inspector Shaw made the comments ahead of National Road Safety Week, which starts on Monday.

Police across our region will flood our roads in a bid to drive down the escalating crash rate by focusing on enforcement and education.

In 2023 speeding and drink or drug driving were the main contributing factors in fatal crashes and police will tailor their enforcement efforts around catching drivers who break the law.

Inspector Shaw said police will also keep a watchful eye on motorcyclists.

“Motorcycle riders and their passengers make up about 27 per cent of lives lost on our roads normally, but the rate is higher than at the moment,” he said.

“This appears to be an increasing trend.”

Motorcycle and moped fatalities accounted for about 50 of the deaths on our roads this year, despite making up about 5 per cent of registered vehicles.

“We are continuing to ask drivers and motorbikes to always be on the lookout for each other,” Inspector Shaw said.

QPS shows motorcyclists are some of our most vulnerable road users and are 30 times more likely to be killed in a crash than car occupants.

“We want people to be safe, we want them to get home to their families and we want them to transit around the community in a safe and courteous fashion,” he said.