Thirty people have died in the Darling Downs, Lockyer Valley and Southwest Queensland since the start of 2022
It has been a horror start to the year as wild weather, speeding, inattention and fatigue claiming 30 lives on our roads. These are the people we've lost, and what we can do to stop the road toll growing.
Police & Courts
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Emergency services are calling on motorists to slow down, take care and make better decisions when they get behind the wheel as the region grapples with a rising road death toll.
TODAY there are 30 families across our region opening up their morning paper, sitting down for breakfast and looking across their kitchen table at an empty chair.
They are thinking about how they will get through the day after recently losing a loved one in a traffic crash.
This year is shaping up to be one of the worst on record for fatal crashes in Southern Queensland, with 24 serious incidents claiming 30 lives since New Year’s Day.
That is double the number of lives lost during the same period last year.With this in mind, Darling Downs police are asking motorists to make today Fatality Free Friday.
That means looking at the decisions you make while driving and how they could potentially spell tragedy for your family or the family of another road user. Darling Downs Acting Inspector David Campbell said speed appeared to be a factor in about half of those fatal crashes.
“Fourteen crashes occurred in a 100kmh zone,” he said.
“We are seeing a lot of these crashes occurring on the highways and seeing a lot of the Fatal Five coming together.
That is speeding, inattention, drinking and drugged driving, failing to wear a seatbelt and fatigue.”
Motorcycle riders are also disproportionately represented in these sad statistics.
“A quarter of the fatal crashes involved a motorcycle, and what we are seeing is that the motorcycle is the vehicle that caused those crashes,” A/Insp Campbell said.
“There is a big push this year for motorcyclists to take great care.”
Traffic authorities are concerned community attitudes to road safety are slipping.
Research from the Australian Road Safety Foundation found 75 per cent of motorists have broken road rules, while 55 per cent admit to taking a risks while behind the wheel and 19 per cent of drivers broke the rules at least once a month.
Despite these figures, 99 per cent of Queenslanders claim they are a safe road user.
When asked why they broke the rules, 39 per cent said they were not focused on what they were doing, and 37 per cent said they thought it was safe to do so.
About 65 per cent of drivers admitted to speeding, while one third said they regularly drove while fatigued.
THE LIVES WE LOST
Student dream turns to parents' nightmare
Raju Chikati’s dream of working and studying abroad came to a tragic end when he hit a kangaroo on the Carnarvon Highway on January 3.
The collision sent the 27-year-old Indian Nationals’ car off the road an into a tree.
His two friends who were also in the car at the time of the incident were injured, but survived the crash.
Both men were transported to hospital in a stable condition and were treated for facial injuries, chest pain and abrasions.
Much-loved man killed
A TWO-VEHICLE crash involving a semi-trailer and a sedan killed Clifton father Brett Knecht and Pialba woman Maidie Page on January 26.
The crash occurred on a notorious stretch of the Warrego Highway at Bowenville shortly after 8.30am.
Brett was remember as a man who loved farming, big engines and music.
“Brett Knecht was such a good and decent man, my heart breaks for his wife Deb and son Cameron and daughter Taila,” friend Maree Oberhardt said.
“Beefy you’ve earned your wings, you will be truly missed.”
Young life lost
A 21-YEAR-OLD Wyreema man Thomas William Geitz died and two of his mates went to hospital in critical condition after their vehicle hit a tree at Kingsthorpe.
Emergency services were called to the horrific scene about 12.30am on February 4 and spent hours working to free the trapped passengers.
In what was described as a highly confronting scene, the car has to be completely disassembled boy the injured man could be transported to hospital.
Highway carnage
An 86-year-old Ipswich man died instantly when his car collided with a truck carting wheat on the Warrego Highway at Bowenville on February 7.
The sedan veered into the side of the semi-trailer heading in the opposite direction.
QFES Area Commander Neil Fanning said it was a confronting scene for all emergency services.
“The sedan was severely damaged, and the patient was declared deceased at the scene,” he said.
Stuart Harper has been remembered as a hardworking family man who loved his bike and the freedom of the open road.
He may have gone out doing what he loved, but he left behind a family that miss him dearly.
The 74-year-old Caboolture man died after he motorbike’s rear wheel seized up on the Esk-Hampton Road at Ravensbourne about 8.30am on April 3.
He was thrown down an embankment and died instantly.
Four people killed in an instant
Four young Korean woman had finished a shift at the Country Farm Fresh Mushrooms farm near Stanthorpe when crossed into the path of a semi-trailer on the New England Highway.
The April 13 collision sent their vehicle rolling along the highway.
Three of the woman died instantly while paramedics worked tirelessly to save the fourth.
Sadly they also died at the scene.
Flooding claims lives
Four people died on flood water during what has been an exceptionally wet year.
Craig Cattell, 47, died on March 28, after he was caught in the flooded Spring Creek.
Robert Menz, 73, died on December 1 after his ute was washed at Yalangur, near Oakey
Gregory Hodge, 67, died on March 6, after he was caught in MP Creek in the South Burnett.
Finally a New South Wales man died after he was washed away by flood water at Kingsthorpe.
Specialist police called to help in search for missing man
A search and rescue operation is under way at a popular fishing hole after a young man vanished.
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