DICING WITH DEATH

DRIVERS in regional areas face double the risk of death on our roads.

Data from the Department of Transport and Main Roads shows more than 173 lives were lost on country Queensland roads in 2017, compared to 74 in Brisbane and the Gold Coast.

The Toowoomba, Ipswich and Surat Basin region is the state’s second-most deadly area. The most dangerous stretches from Mackay in the north down to the Sunshine Coast.

Statistics, revealed ahead of National Road Safety Week that starts today, rarely deter drivers breaking the law.

During the past year across Australia there were 1227 people killed and 35,000 more seriously injured.

Drink-driving, speeding and inattention remain among the leading causes.

The data shows young drivers are not the ones to blame – the majority of those killed are more experienced road users aged between 25-59.

Yet constant calls for change continue to fall on deaf ears. After more than two decades working in the field, Shine Lawyers’ Brisbane West general manager Wendy Nixson sees first-hand the trauma of those injured or on families left behind.

“Until your inadvertence, or whatever it might be, has caused that injury and you are suddenly thrust into a litigation experience whereby you are being asked by lawyers to account for your actions, it probably doesn’t register seriously with people,” she said.

“A very small action on your part can cause a traumatic experience for someone else.”

Most drivers are covered by CTP insurance, but anyone who causes a crash then has to answer to the insurer and will see increases to their premiums and licence suspension.

“Maybe that’s not enough. Maybe we need to think about how there might be more penalty to the individual driver who has caused injury so they do take it more seriously and they understand the ramifications of their actions – inadvertently or not,” Ms Nixson said.

“We almost don’t register we are still losing more than 200 people on our roads within this state. That is troubling. Potentially Queenslanders have become desensitised to reckless, dangerous or negligent driving.

“It never gets any easier to deal with human beings suffering injury or death ... whose lives will never be the same again.”

Road Safety Week will start with remembering those who died in 2017, and the campaign

took to the roads on Saturday where cyclists and motorcyclists were encouraged to wear yellow to highlight the most vulnerable road users.