With 299 fatalities, Queensland’s road toll for 2022 was the highest in more than ten years.
The number of fatalities on the state’s roads in 2017 increased from 2009 levels to reach 70 motorcycles, 29 pedestrians, and 12 drowning victims.
Additionally, it is more expensive than the road tolls in Victoria and New South Wales.
Announcing the number, according to acting chief superintendent Christopher Stream, was “a horrible job.”
“We cannot just state that these are statistics. These are the lives of humans, “added he.
The most recent fatality was a man who was killed in a collision between his automobile and a truck on the Fraser Coast near Bauple on the final night of 2022.
Also last night, 17 victims in a crash near Miami on the Gold Coast were given medical attention by paramedics.
On Saturday afternoon at the Sunshine Coast, two people perished when a tree collapsed on their car.
This morning, a 15-year-old Slacks Creek teenager was killed when his motorcycle collided with a parked truck.
Uiatu “Joan” Taufua, the mother of Broncos star Payne Haas, is still in the hospital after being involved in a crash on Friday afternoon on the Gold Coast hinterland that claimed the lives of three members of one family in another car. Police are still waiting to speak with her.
Acting Chief Superintendent Stream said, “Police do not now have a medical clearance to interrogate that motorist but, as soon as we can, that driver will be interviewed.”
He claimed the hospitalized driver had “severe injuries.”
Leanne Enoch, acting transport minister, discussed the state’s road toll on Sunday.
It has been a disastrous year for Queensland’s roads, plain and simple, she added.
Ms. Enoch said that an increase in “risky” behavior on the roadways since the outbreak was to blame for last year’s “awful” road toll.
We have the lowest road fatality rate in 2019 since records have been kept, she added, adding that the epidemic had caused significant behavioral changes.
Since 2018, when the state reported 40 fatal motorcycle accidents, the number of fatal motorcycle wrecks has increased by 70 percent.
According to Acting Chief Superintendent Stream, most accidents were either young riders or senior riders who had resumed riding after a period of inactivity.
“These incidents weren’t always the fault of the motorcycle riders. Drivers have occasionally turned in front of motorcycle riders, giving them little time to respond “says he.
Acting Chief Superintendent Stream claimed that the deadly five—driving while intoxicated or high, distracted, not wearing a seat belt, and fatigued—were factors in the majority of fatal collisions last year.
The majority of these mishaps, he claimed, could have been avoided.
In 2023, police will take more measures to enhance traffic safety, including deploying point-to-point cameras on highways and speed and red light cameras at intersections with a history of crashes.
You may notice more sporadic drug and alcohol testing being done at various times, he said.
According to him, police were also experimenting with new technology to combat drunk driving.
In order to “ensure that we’ve got the correct combination of fines and, of course, rules to ensure road safety in Queensland,” Ms. Enoch said the government was working on a new strategy to address the road toll.
