Get rid of road idiots

IN the coming days Geelong’s waterfront will become a hive of activity.

Popular family drawcards such as the floating Christmas tree, carousel and Eastern Beach become even more crowded as the school year ends.

Once Christmas hits, activity around the area is boosted by the throngs of day-trippers and holiday-makers who descend on our region and our city’s renowned waterfront over the summer break.

Just as all roads lead to Kardinia Park during the winter months, in many ways Eastern Beach is the summer heart of Geelong.

Which makes the photographs emblazoned across our front page today all the more frightening.

A car travelling 90km/h above the speed limit along Western Beach Rd loses control and ploughs into a parked car.

The force of the impact is so hard it forces the car through the front fence of a home while the frightened owner looks on before the offending car flips and eventually comes to a stop metres down the road.

Fortunately in this instance, nobody was seriously injured. But ask any road patrol officer and they could tell you a slew of horror stories where reckless driving didn’t have as happy an ending.

It is unfathomable that in this day and age — with the amount of education and community information that exists today — that people continue to take such risks behind the wheel. And the potential for disaster grows exponentially in the coming days as our waterfront becomes the hottest visitor attraction in town.

Earlier this week, the Transport Accident Commission launched its Christmas safety campaign, with a particular emphasis on speed, drink-driving and distractions. They know that we are about to embark on the horror period where, historically our roads become much more dangerous.

Last year 26 drivers died on Victorian roads with a blood alcohol level over .05. The TAC is still working towards its target of zero fatalities. It is incumbent on us all to make that happen.