South Australia Police will be conducting Operation High Impact F5 this month, targeting the risky behaviours linked to fatalities and trauma on our roads.
The Fatal Five factors identified as contributors to road trauma and death are drink and drug driving, speeding, distraction, not wearing seatbelts, and dangerous driving.
The operation will commence on Friday 7 August and conclude on Sunday 16 August.
So far this year, 73 lives have been lost on South Australian roads. Every one of those deaths represents a family and community changed forever.
Dangerous driving has been identified as a contributing factor in 33 per cent of the fatal crashes this year.
Police will act when they detect speeding, dangerous driving, distraction, impaired driving or seatbelt offences.
Nearly one-fifth of lives lost this year have been motorcyclists; who are among our most vulnerable road users. Riders should always ride within their ability, obey the speed limit, and adjust for traffic, weather and road conditions, as even a minor mistake on a motorcycle can have devastating consequences.
The impact of road trauma is felt statewide; with 46 lives lost in regional areas and 27 on metropolitan roads.
Police urge the community to obey the road rules, make safe decisions, and to not put your life or the lives of others at risk.
Police will be highly visible, but drivers should also expect enforcement anywhere and at any time, including from police in SAPOL's shadow fleet vehicles.
Superintendent Shane Johnson, Officer in Charge, Traffic Support Branch asked drivers to make every decision as if someone they love is in the vehicle beside them, because someone's life depends on the choices we all make.
"We can clean up the shattered glass. We can remove the twisted metal. We can clear the wreckage from the road and reopen the traffic lanes.
"But we cannot cleanup the heartbreak left behind.
"We cannot fill the empty chair at the family table. We cannot undo the phone call that changes a family's life forever. We cannot bring back a loved one who was simply on their way somewhere and never arrived.
"Our police officers see the human cost of road trauma. They see the devastation, they comfort families in their darkest moments, and they carry those memories long after the flashing lights have gone.
"Every death on our roads represents a person who mattered, someone loved. Someone who was expected home.
"Slow down. Put the phone away. Don't drive impaired. Take care of each other."
Because we can clear a crash scene. But we cannot clear the grief that follows.
