Police call for common sense to save lives at Easter

Thousands of people will hit the road for the Easter long weekend and police are worried that more traffic will lead to more crashes and more lives lost so they are cracking down.

Darling Downs police will be out in force over the Easter long weekend in a bid to blunt a spike in road deaths.

Fresh police figures show the region’s road death toll is seven higher as of yesterday compared to the same period last year.

Since the start of the year, 19 people have been killed on roads in the QPS Southern Region, which takes in Toowoomba, Ipswich and the Darling Downs.

Assistant Commissioner Mike Condon said too many of those deaths were the result of motorists driving into flood water, and he called on road users to make better decisions.

“We are coming into the Easter period, and we want people to drive safely, get to their destination, exercise good judgment and return to their home safely,” he said.

“We need to stop this ridiculous onslaught of people being killed on the roads.”

Police will pay close attention to motorists suspected to be driving while affected by alcohol or drugs.

In 2021, 41 per cent of lives lost in the Southern Region were as a result of drink or drug driving. This was our worst fatal five factor, followed by speeding which is linked to 34 per cent of fatal crashes.

The QPS Operation Uniform Easter started on April 2, and so far police have issued 1184 traffic infringements, including 629 speeding fines and 22 fines for failing to wear a seat belt. A further 12 people were fined for using a mobile phone while driving.

Mr Condon said the community needed to do better.

“We talk about success being a reduction but success should be zero fatalities,” he said. “The people behind the wheel are people who can change that statistic.”