Drive safely - save lives and reduce demand on rescuers

Queenslanders should drive safely to not only reduce the road toll but lighten demands on highly trained rescuers, Emergency Services Minister Neil Roberts said. Attending the 2008 Australasian Rescue Challenge being held at the Gold Coast today, Mr Roberts said road rescue incidents were among the most prevalent duties Queensland Fire and Rescue Service (QFRS) officers attended. "QFRS projects almost one-in-eight incidents it will attend this financial year will be road rescues. With 8139 incidents, there is the equivalent to almost one road rescue incident every hour of every day," he said. "I urge drivers to take greater care in their cars - do not drive tired, do not drink and drive, do not speed and obey the road rules." "The best way our community can value the skills and expertise of our road rescuers is to drive safely and reduce the number of incidents they attend - and thereby reduce the number tragedies on our roads." "Until we can do that, road rescue experts will continue to have our support through funding and training and they will continue to have our gratitude for the difficult, and often life-saving, work they do." "The need for these championships and highly-trained road rescue experts is a sad reality about the number of incidents on our roads." The Queensland road toll for 2008 was 128 on Thursday before the start of the Queen's Birthday long weekend; the 2008 toll is 32 fewer than it was at the same time last year. "Four Queensland teams will be vying for a national honours. They are from Cairns, Caloundra, Moranbah and Lowood - representing rural, auxiliary and urban firefighters as well as Queensland Ambulance Service paramedics and SES volunteers," he said. "In all 22 teams of road rescue experts from across Australia and South East Asia will test their skills in the four-day challenge ending today." All Australian States are represented and teams have been drawn from New Zealand, Hong Kong and Malaysia. The event will see road rescue workers from fire services, ambulance services and other emergency service agencies compete against each other for the title of Australasian Road Rescue Champion. 8 June 2008