Christmas-New Year an opportunity to renew commitment to safe driving

The approaching Christmas-New Year holiday season provides people with an opportunity to renew their commitment to safe driving behaviour, Transport Minister John Mickel said today.

Mr Mickel said far too many families would not be celebrate Christmas as usual this year, having lost a family member in a road accident during 2008.

“This week we have seen the State’s road toll pass the 300 mark, and it will climb higher before the year is out.

“It is sad and frustrating to know that most road crashes can be prevented by avoiding high-risk driving,” he said.

“Statistics show more than 96 per cent of road fatalities are the result of preventable human behaviour.

“For some of those killed it was through their own fault. For many others, however, it was through no fault on their part – they were killed as a result of someone else’s mistake, or worse still, someone else’s deliberately reckless and dangerous driving.

“In the last 12 months the major killers once again have been drink driving, speeding, driving while fatigued, not wearing seat belts, not being attentive, and performing illegal manoeuvres.

“Think of the lives that could be saved on our roads if everyone obeyed the road rules, stuck to the speed limit, drove sober, buckled up and stayed alert and attentive," he said.

“Innocent people are maimed or killed by irresponsible drivers on our roads and it’s these drivers we are targeting through Queensland Transport’s new road safety campaign ‘Slow down stupid’, which was launched at the end of November.

For more information on road toll statistics and current road safety campaigns, visit the Queensland Transport website: www.transport.qld.gov.au

Media contact: 3237 1944