Last week saw the closure of Operation Sierra Noella, the Queensland Police Service (QPS) road safety campaign targeting high risk behaviour on our roads throughout the Christmas and New Year holiday period.
During the seven-week operation, which ran from December 9 to January 29, 37 lives were lost on our roads, compared to 20 during the previous holiday period.
Acting Chief Superintendent Ray Rohweder expressed concerns at driver behaviour on Queensland roads which not only resulted in a high number of lives lost, but also significant number of serious injuries.
"More than 1,700 people were injured in crashes across the holiday period, an increase of more than 200 on the same period last year," Acting Chief Superintendent Rohweder said.
"A large portion of these injuries have consequences that people will have to live with for the rest of their lives."
Police detected 150,851 offences on the roads, an increase of 21,265 on the 2019/20 holiday period.
Acting Chief Superintendent Rohweder said speed remained the biggest offence committed on our roads.
"Nearly 15,000 infringements were issued to speeding drivers while almost 125,000 more were detected by speed cameras," he said
"Speeding infringements were up by 31 per cent compared to last year, despite repeated appeals from police and an increasing number of lives lost."
Of 145,525 roadside breath tests conducted, 2,133 drivers were detected over the legal limit.
"Drug driving still remains a problem on our roads," Acting Chief Superintendent Roheweder said.
"Of 4,391 drug tests conducted, more than a quarter of drivers returned a positive result.
"These are very disappointing results and police will pay particular attention to drug driving during the next few months."
Acting Chief Superintendent Rohweder continued to express frustration at the selfish actions of drivers that put the lives of others on the road at risk.
"Our police see these reckless actions and their consequences every day," he said.
"The decisions you make on the road can affect your life and the lives of those around you so it's up to individuals to take responsibility.
"We need a collective effort to change this behaviour because one day a crash could affect you or someone you love."
To-date in 2021, 29 lives have been lost on Queensland roads, an increase of 17 on 2020.
